992 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 



zation feels the necessity of occasionally dissipating the cares of his mind, when he cannot 

 find tobacco, opium, malt liquors, or ardent spirit, has recourse to sour wliey. 



Chap. VI. 



The Sheep. Ovis aries^ L. ; Mammalia Pecorn, L., and Ruminalece, Cuv. Brebis, Fr. ; 

 Schaf, Ger. ; Oveja, Span, and Pecora, Ital. 



6381. The sheep is an inhabitant of every part of the globe, from Iceland to the 

 regions of the torrid zone. The varieties of form and clothing necessary to fit it for ex- 

 isting in so many climates are of course numerous. In most of these countries it is 

 cultivated for its wool or flesh, and in many for both ; but it is most cultivated in Europe, 

 and especially in France, Spain, and Britain. In the latter country its culture has 

 attained an astonishing degree of perfection. Besides the O. aries, or common sheep, 

 there are three other species, the O. Ammon or Siberian sheep ; the Pudu or South 

 American, and the Strepsiceros or Cretan sheep. By some these are considered mere 

 varieties. The Cretan and Siberian are cultivated in Hungary and Siberia. 



6382. The common sheep in a loild state prefers open plains, where it herds together 

 in small flocks, which are in general active, swift, and easily frightened by dogs or men. 

 When completely domesticated, the sheep appears as stupid as it is harmless ; it is character- 

 ised by Buffon as one of the most timid, imbecile, and contemptible of quadrupeds. When 

 sheep, however, have an extensive range of pasture, and are left in a considerable degree 

 to depend on themfeelves for food and protection, they exhibit a more decided character. 

 A ram has been seen in these circumstances to attack and beat off a large and formidable 

 dog, and even a bull has been felled by a stroke received between his eyes as he was 

 lowering his head to receive his adversary on the horns and toss him in the air. Sheep 

 display considerable sagacity in the selection of their food ; and in the approach of storms, 

 they perceive the indications with accurate precision, and retire for shelter always to the 

 spot which is best able to afford it. The sheep is more subject to disorders than any of 

 the domesticated animals ; giddiness, consumption, , scab, dropsy, and worms frequently 

 seizing upon and destroying it. Of all disorders the most fatal is owing to vast num- 

 bers of worms of the genus fasciola, which are found in the liver and gall-bladder. 

 They are of a flat form, of an oval shape, with slightly pointed extremities, and bear a 

 general resemblance to the seeds of a gourd. The fly is another formidable enemy, and 

 is often fatal in the course of twenty-four hours, breeding within the skull of the animal. 

 To extricate the sheep from this danger, the French shepherds apply the trephine instru- 

 ment, without the smallest hesitation, and with the greatest dispatch and success. 



6383. Of all the domestic animals of Britain, Brown observes, sheep are of the greatest 

 consequence, both to the nation and to the farmer ; because they can be reared in situ- 

 ations, and upon soils, where other animals would not live ; and, in general, afford 

 greater profit than can be obtained either from the rearing or feeding of cattle. The 

 very fleece, shorn annually from their backs, isof itself a matter worthy of consideration, 

 affording a partial return not to be obtained from any other kind of stock. Wool has 

 long been the staple commodity of this island, giving bread to thousands who are em- 

 ployed in manufacturing it into innumerable articles for home consumption, and foreign 

 exportation. In every point of view, sheep husbandry deserves to be esteemed as a chief 

 branch of rural economy, and claims the utmost attention of agriculturists. For many 

 years back, it has been studied with a degree of diligence and assiduity not inferior to 

 its merits ; and the result has been, that this branch of rural management has reached a 

 degree of perfection favorable to those who exercised it, and highly advantageous to the 

 public. 



Sect. I. Of the Varieties of Sheep, 



6384. The varieties of the 0. aries, or common sheep, dispersed over the world are, 

 according to Linnaeus, the hornless, horned, blackfaced, Spanish, many-horned, African, 

 Guinea, broad-tailed, fat-rumped, Bucharian, long-tailed. Cape, bearded, and morvant; 

 to which some add the Siberian sheep, cultivated in Asia, Barbary, and Corsica, and the 

 Cretan sheep, which inhabits the Grecian islands, Hungary, and Austria; by Linnjeus 

 considered as species. 



6385. The varieties of British sheep are so numerous that, at first sight, it appears 

 almost impossible to reduce them into any regular classes. They may, however, be 

 divided in two ways ; first, as to the length of their wool ; and, secondly, as to the 

 presence or absence of horns ; a third classification might be made after the place or 

 districts in which such species are supposed to abound, to be in greatest perfection, or to 

 have originated. 



