MOTrFLOIf.j 



SHEEP, 



FCRETATS" SHEEP. 



tortuous, each about tlie 180th of an inch in 

 diameter— some cylindrical, others more or less 

 flattened — all looking towards a point at their 

 distal extremity. The hair of the one-year-old 

 consisted of coarse and fine fibres in about 

 equal portions, the one about the 3G3rd of an 

 inch in diameter, the other the 1333rd of an 

 inch ; the former resembling the hair of the 

 elder sheep, the latter having the appearance 

 of wool, both in its fineness and general aspect, 

 whether seen with the naked eye or under the 

 microscope. The presence of a portion of 

 wool underneath the hair of the younger sheep, 

 accords, I may remark, with the belief of my 

 friend, that all the very young lambs of the 

 island have wool, which gradually passes into 

 hair as they grow older." This, the Doctor 

 thinks, is the fact. He then expatiates on the 

 care "Divine Providence exerts in changing 

 the clothing of an animal to be suitable to the 

 climate it inhabits." 



The causes which have rendered the fleece 

 of the European sheep what we now find it, are 

 involved in obscurity. AVe attribute much, in 

 the first instance, to the effects of temperature ; 

 for though the merino sheep of Spain (a race 

 originally imported from England), and the 

 flocks of Australia and Southern Africa, are 

 pre-eminent as wool-bearers, yet it would seem 

 that the predisposition to develop wool at the 

 expense of hair, is acquired only in temperate, 

 elevated, or even cold climates. Eor instance, 

 we learn from Mr. Hodgson, that the wool of 

 the Bhotean domesticated sheep, called Huniah, 

 is superb ; and, he adds, the animal is suited 

 only to the northern district of Nepal, suff"ering 

 much from the heat of the central district. 

 On the other hand, it is clear that, in the early 

 ages of man's history, the shepherds must 

 have selected, for breeding, those individuals 

 on which the wool predominated ; and that, 

 by following up this system, the sheep gradu- 

 ally attained its present condition, so that a 

 wool-bearing breed became, at length, per- 

 manently established.' Originally, perhaps, the 

 sheep, then a wool-bearer, and Jong domes- 

 ticated, was of a brown or rusty-black colour — 

 a hue still lingering on the faces and limbs of 

 many of our breeds, and sometimes appearing 

 as the general tint of individuals, thus con- 

 spicuous in the midst of their white-fleeced 

 companions. Nine out of ten of the sheep of 

 694 



Dukhun are black, with short, crisp, coarse 

 wool. As the primitive fleece of the sheep 

 was a mixture of hair and wool, we cannot be 

 surprised to find races domesticated, in which 

 the hair predominates over the wool, and that 

 so greatly, that they may with propriety be 

 termed hairy. Sometimes the hair is like that 

 of a spaniel dog, long and silky ; and many of 

 the flocks of the Bucharian Tartars are thus 

 clothed. To this breed may be referred — 



THE WALLACHIAN OR CRETAN SHEEP. 



This is the Ovis Aries, var. Strepsiceros, 



common in Crete, "Wallachia, Hungary, and 



the western parts of Asia. A splendid ram 



of this variety, from Mount Parnassus, was 



presented by Dr. Bowring to the Zoological 



Society, London. Its was vicious, unruly, and 



of amazing strength. Its horns were very large, 



and spirally contorted, adding greatly to its 



striking and picturesque appearance. Its fleece 



consisted of hair and wool, the former being of 



great length, perfectly straight, close-set, and 



beautifully fine, falling from the middle of the 



back on each side of the animal, almost to the 



eround. On the face the hair was short, and 



of a rusty black ; on the body it was white. 



In general, the horns in the male rise almost 



perpendicularly from the skull, making a series 



of spiral turns in their ascent, the first turn 



being the largest ; while, in the female, they 



diverge, taking a lateral direction. In the 



specimen, however, to which we have alluded, 



they extended laterally from the skull, and, 



after the first turn, took a downward sweep. 



Variations in these points may be expected in 



domesticated animals. " The WallacJiian sheep 



is a remarkable animal," says Mr. Milburn; 



" and altogether the most beautiful, as a picture, 



of all the various breeds. They are common 



in the whole of Southern Eussia. The horns 



of the ram are of a peculiarly tall and spiral 



form. The wool is of a hairy character, but 



beautifully white. The tail, however, is the 



peculiarity. Kohl, in his Eussia, says, 'it 



really carries its fat about in its tail, which 



grows into a shape something similar to a pear, 



swelling at both sides to an enormous size, and 



tapering to a point at the extremity.' The 



Eussian shepherds are a very dull and helpless 



race of men ; and more credit is due to the 



dogs and goats which accompany the flocks, for 



