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THE FARMER AT HOME. 



ICELAND SHEEP. The sheep of Iceland are of two kinds ; 

 the first, termed the native breed, is small, in color from dun tc 

 almost black ; the second is larger, the fleece white, and supposed to 

 have originated from more southern regions. The fleece of these 

 breeds consists of hair externally, with a white, close layer of wool 



ICE LAND SHEEP. 



within, impervious to cold arid wet ; it is worthless for manufactur- 

 ing, and is used for horse collars, and more or less exported and 

 appropriated to this purpose. The principal peculiarity about the 

 native sheep is the number of their horns, many individuals having 

 four and five, and instances have been known of eight. These hardy 

 animals propagate without the care of man, and seek refuge from 

 storms among the caverns of the coast during the winter season. 



ICELAND MOSS. This lichen, though a native of the higher 

 mountains of the northern parts of Britain, is procured mostly from 

 Norway and Iceland, on the lava of the west coast of which latter 

 country it abounds and attains a large size. When dry it has 

 scarcely any odor, and the taste is bitter and unpleasant. The pow- 

 der or flour is of a whitish gray. When the bitter principle is 

 removed, the starchy matter differs from wheat flour in nutritive 

 properties, though some authorities assert that a soup made of it is 

 twice as nutritive as one made with flour. Certain it is that the 



