50 THE SHEEP. 



Sometimes, in case of attack, they will have recourse to 

 the collective strength oi' the whole flock, and drawing to- 

 gether in a compact body, present towards every quarter 

 a formidable front, which cannot be attacked without dan- 

 ger to the assailant. The Sheep undoubtedly possesses less 

 animation and sagacity than many other quadrupeds, but 

 in the selection of its food, few display a greater share of 

 instinctive discrimination. Its acuteness of perception, in 

 regard to the approach of a storm, is also equal to what is 

 manifested in this respect by almost any other animal. 



In consequence of the warm and oily nature of its fleece, 

 the Sheep is able to bear the greatest extreme of cold ; and 

 whole flocks, in endeavoring to shelter themselves under a 

 high hedge, or the brow of a steep hill, have frequently 

 been buried for some days under the snow, without any 

 other detriment beside that produced by want of food. 



The varieties observable in this quadruped are so mul- 

 tiplied, tiiat no two countries, nor scarcely any tw T o dis- 

 tricts, produce sheep of exactly the same kind. A visible 

 difference is found between all the different breeds, either 

 in the size, the shape, the fleece, or the horns. The woolly 

 sheep exists only in the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, 

 and America; if it be transported into a hotter country, it 

 not only becomes less prolific, but its flesh loses its flavor, 

 and what is still more remarkable, its wool changes into a 

 long, rough kind of hair, which, by its openness and cool- 

 ness, is a covering far better suited to a warm climate, than 

 the close and woolly fleece with which it is clothed in this 

 part of the world ; a circumstance which exhibits a remarka- 

 ble instance of the wisdom and goodness of Divine Provi- 

 dence, in providing for the well-being of all his creatures. 



