520 



WOO 



woo 



their journey, nor in winter. Fi om 

 the territory called the Montana, 

 at the extremity of Old Castile, 

 from whence they set out, to Estre- 

 madura, is one hundredtifly leagues, 

 which they march in less than forty 

 days. As soon as April comes, the 

 sheep express, by various uneasy 

 motions, a strong desire to return 

 to their summer habitations. The 

 sheep of Estremadura, which never 

 travel, have coarse, long, hairy 

 wool. The itinerant sheep have 

 short, silky, white wool ; the fine- 

 ness of which is owing to the ani- 

 mal's passing its life in the open 

 air, of equal temperature ; for it is 

 not colder in Andalusia or Estre- 

 niadura in winter, than it is in 

 Montana or Molina in summer." 

 The sheep, by these judicious re- 

 movals, are grazing both in sum- 

 mer and winter, and are never ex- 

 posed to extreme heats or colds. 

 Next to this management insular 

 situations in temperate climates 

 are the best places for the constant 

 feeding of sheep, where the ex- 

 tremes of heat and cold are not so 

 great as on a continent in the same 

 latitude. 



Although we are accustomed to 

 consider wool as the exclusive pro- 

 duction of the sheep, and as cha- 

 racteristic of that species of ani- 

 mal, yet there are sheep, vvhich are 

 as destitute of wool as a deer, or a 

 grey hound. Sheep of this kind 

 are found in Tartary Africa, the 

 East Indies, and the Chinese Em- 

 pire. There are likewise animals, 

 which yield a fur in many respects 

 resembling wool, and which is used 

 for the same purposes, such as the 

 goat, the camel, the dromedary. 



and the vicuna of South Ameri- 

 ca. 



The covering with which Provi- 

 dence, always attentive to the 

 wants of his creatures, has furnish- 

 ed most quadrupeds is adapted to 

 the climate which they inhabit. 

 In those where a heavy coat would 

 be an incumbrance we find even 

 the sheep destitute of its usual 

 fleece. On the other hand, from 

 latitudes where the rigours of win- 

 ter are very severe we import 

 those furs, which contribute to the 

 comfort and elegance of our own 

 attire. 



The amelioration of flocks of 

 sheep has always been closely con- 

 nected with the progress of the arts, 

 and of civilization, for we uniform- 

 ly find in countries where these 

 have flourished, a race of sheep, 

 which yield wool much superior to 

 that we find all around them. 



The particular shape of the fila- 

 ment is most probably determined 

 by that of the pore in the skin, 

 through which it is protruded. In 

 some families of sheep we observe 

 the pile perfectly round and even, 

 like a very nicely drawn wire, and 

 in others it is uniformly flat and 

 smooth, like a small bar of finely 

 polished steel. This diflerence is 

 frequently discovered by inspec- 

 tion alone, but becomes more ob- 

 vious if one end of the filament be 

 held fast while the other is rolled 

 round its own axis between the 

 fingers. It then reflects the rays of 

 light, if it be flat in the same way 

 that the metallic shreds, which we 

 obtain from gold and silver lace, 

 do when they are treated in a si- 

 milar manner, and concerning 



