THE SHEEP. 31 



covering, and their horns ; but if we come to a close ex- 

 amination, and observe the similitude which internally 

 may be seen, we shall not hesitate to pronounce that 

 they belong to one family, and they frequently unite 

 and blend their race. 



' 1 THE SHEEP. 



In the remote and unpolished ages of antiquity, the 

 office of a shepherd was held in high esteem, and the 

 care of a flock thought no degradation to the man who 

 was possessed both of abilities and wealth. The Sheep, 

 in its present domestic state, seems little calculated to 

 struggle either with danger or distress, as its stupidity 

 appears to render it incapable of exertion^ even to pre- 

 serve its inoffensive life; therefore if it did not relv 

 upon man for protection, its natural enemies would 

 soon exterminate the race. The moufflon, which is 

 the sheep in a savage state, is a creature at once bold 

 and fleet, ready to oppose all animals which bear some 

 proportion in size, or to fly from those which would 

 conquer by their strength : human art seems to have 

 changed their nature, and totally to have destroyed 

 every appearance of sense ; its large eyes, separated far 

 from each other, only exhibit a vacant stare ; and it 

 merely appears as a lumpish mass of flesh, supported 

 upon four legs unequal to the weight. No country 

 produces finer sheep than England, though the Spanish 

 wool is allowed to be softer and more fine, and in ma- 

 nufacturing the cloth in this country, a proportion of 

 that wool is usually combined. The Lincolnshire and 

 Warwickshire breed of those animals are particularly 

 admired for the weight of their fleece, and it is no un- 

 common thing in these counties for a hundred guineas 

 to be given for a ram. 



