HISTORY OF THE SHEEP. 145 



brown : and under its outward coat of hair it has an inter- 

 nal covering, that rather resembles fur than wool, being 

 fine, short, and soft. 



The second variety to be found in this animal, is that 

 of the broad-tailed sheep, so common in Tartary, Arabia, 

 Persia. Barbary, Syria, and Egypt. This sheep is only 

 remarkable for its large and heavy tail, which is often 

 found to weigh from twenty to thirty pounds/ It some- 

 times grows a foot broad, and is obliged to be supported 

 by a small kind of board, that goes upon wheels. This 

 tail is not covered underneath with wool, like the upper 

 part, but is bare ; and the natives, who consider it as a 

 very great delicacy, are very careful in attending and pre- 

 serving it from injury. Mr. Buffon supposes that the fat 

 which falls into the caul in our sheep, goes in these to fur- 

 nish the tail ; and that the rest of the body is from thence 

 deprived of fat in proportion. With regard to their fleeces, 

 in the temperate climates, they are, as in our own breed, 

 soft and woolly ; but in the warmer latitudes, they are 

 hairy : yet in both they preserve the enormous size of their 

 tails. 



The third observable variety is that of the sheep called 

 fitrepsicheros. This animal is a native of the islands of the 

 Archipelago, and only differs from our sheep, in having 

 straight horns, surrounded with a spiral furrow. 



The last variety is that of the Guinea sheep, which is 

 generally found in all the tropical climates, both of Africa 

 and the East Indies. They are of a large size, with a 

 rough hairy skin, short horns, and ears hanging down, with 

 a kind of dewlap under the chin. They differ greatly in 

 form from the rest, and might be considered as animals 

 of another kind, were they not known to breed with our 

 sheep. These, of all the domestic kinds, seem to approach 

 the nearest to the state of nature. They are larger, 

 stronger, and swifter, than the common race : and, conse- 

 quently, better fitted for a precarious forest life. However, 



