1 1 I \' 1 S I () N \' 



SHEEP. 



CUAPTER I. 



FOKF.IOK BRKKPS OF SIIKKT ; THE RASS ; TIIK Sir.KUIAK ARCALl ; THE KAMTSCHATKAN AR'IAI.I; 

 THE AUMEXIAN AKGALI ; THE NAHOOll, OR SHA ; THE SUA; THE CURSICA.V MOfKLON; THE 

 WALLACm.VN SUEEP ; AFRICAN SUEEP ; TUE TARTARIAN SHEEP; TUB PERSIAN SHEEP; ICELAND 

 AND FAROE ISLAND SHEEP; TUE ALPACA AND LA>LV ; THE SPANISH MEBINO SUEEP ; THE SAXON 

 MERINO. 



FOREIGN BREEDS OF SHEEP, 

 Of all our domestic animals, the sheep is 

 that of which we have the earliest notice; as 

 we are told that " Ahel was a keeper of sheep." 

 It was reclaimed in the primordial era of man's 

 existence on the globe, and we must look to 

 Western Asia as its original habitat. From 

 this centre it has, more or less, gradually spread 

 by the agency of man ; and, under the inQu- 

 ences of climate, food, and treatment, has 

 ramified into numerous varieties. 



In the Zoological Proceedings, there is a 

 paper by Mr. Blyth, entitled " An amended list 

 of the genus Ovis;" in which he tells us, that 

 in the narrative of the celebrated Venetian 

 traveller, Marco Polo, upon the elevated plain 

 of Pamir, eastward of Bokhara, and 16,000 

 i'eet above the sea-level, wild animals are met 

 with in great numbers, particularly sheep of a 

 large size, having horns three, four, and even 

 six palms in length. More recently, an 

 animal called the Eass has been indicated, 

 from a report in Sir A. Burncs' Travels in 

 Bokhara, and its horns have been transmitted 

 to the lioyal Asiatic Society. He confirms the 

 narrative of Marco Polo ; says the flesh is 

 much prized ; and that the people shoot the 

 animal with arrows. "The Eass is said to 

 delight in the coldest districts ; a common- 

 sized individual will require two horses to bear 

 its flesh from the field." The horns, following 

 their curvature, are nearly five feet in length. 



THE SIBERIAN ARGALI. 



This noble sheep is described by Pallas, and 

 has a much wider range of habitat than the 

 Musimon; whilst its general characteristics bear 



a striking resemblance to those of the sheep. 

 Its natural abode is on the tops of mountains 

 in cold latitudes, and it is common in Siberia. 



THE KAMTSCHATKAN ARG.VLI. 

 M. Eschscholtz, who describes this species, 

 states it to be very numerous on the moun- 

 tains of Kamtschatka. In summer it resides 

 upon the snow-clad heights ; but, in winter, it 

 descends to the lower regions ; and, according 

 to Kotzebue, is remarkable for its agility. In 

 America there are two species very closely 

 allied to the Siberian Argali — the Eocky 

 Mountain Argali (Ovis Montana), and the 

 Californian Argali (0. Californiana, Douglas) ; 

 besides wliich there is the Caucasian Argali 

 fOvis Cylindricornis, Blyth), hitherto con- 

 founded with the Siberian Argali. 



THE ARMENIAN ARGALI. 

 This is the Ovis Gmelin of Blyth, of which 

 specimens were sent from Erzeroum to the 

 Zoological Gardens in London. According 

 to Grmelin, this species is found only in the 

 highest mountains in Persia. Tlie males, ho 

 informs us, are very quarrelsome amongst each 

 other, insomuch that he had been at one place 

 where the ground was strewn with horns 

 that had been knocked off in their contests. 

 It is allied to the Corsican INIouflon. Sir John 

 McNeill informed Mr, Blyth that it appears 

 to be the common species of the mountains of 

 Armenia ; occurring likewise on the north-west 

 of Persia : but the wild sheep of the central 

 parts of Persia is evidently distinct, having 

 horns much more resembling those of the 

 domestic ram, being spiral, and completing 

 more than one spiral circle, 



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