Animals of North America 



how many acres of dry western mountain land are 

 capable of producing half a ton a year when not 

 seeding down? As long as the consumption ex- 

 ceeds the production of the soil, it is only a ques- 

 tion of time when even the sheep will no longer 

 find subsistence. 



THE LAST STAGE TO BE SEEN IN THE ORIENT. 



While going through these mountains last sum- 

 mer and reflecting upon the prodigious changes 

 which the sheep have brought about in a few 

 years, it occurred to me that we must look to 

 Oriental countries in order to see the final results 

 of sheep and goat grazing in semi-arid climates. 

 I have proposed as an historical thesis a subject 

 which at first appears somewhat humorous, 

 namely, ''The Influence of Sheep and Goats in 

 History." I am convinced that the country lying 

 between Arabia and Mesopotamia, which was 

 formerly densely populated, full of beautiful 

 cities, and heavily wooded, has been transformed 

 less by the action of political causes than by the 

 unrestricted browsing of sheep and goats. This 

 browsing destroyed first the undergrowth, then 

 the forests, the natural reservoirs of the country, 

 then the grasses which held together the soil, and 

 finally resulted in the removal of the soil itself. 



IS 



