670 auADRUPEDS. 



the stockings of such superior fineness, for which the Isles of Shet- 

 land, and the city of Aberdeen are still celebrated, are articles 

 which shew that the inhabitants of Scotland have not been much 

 less capable of ingenuity in this way, than their neighbours of 

 England. The Spanish wool has bet n much celebrated ; and it is 

 not very Ions' since, broad cloth bearing the name of Spanish, was 

 prized above the English. But the wool produced in Britain has 

 been, by various arts, so much improved, as to be now, not infe- 

 rior in excellence to that of Spain ; and no woollen cloth is at 

 present esteemed superior to that of English manufacture. The 

 sheep with the finest fleeces in England, are fed on the Coteswold 

 Downs, and in Herefordshire, Devonshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, 

 and Yorkshire. The wool of Wales is coarse ; nor is that of Scot- 

 land, except in some instances, remarkable for fineness. The wool 

 of the small sheep in the Highlands, and the Isles of Scotland, is 

 superior to the finest Spanish or English wool. 



The skin of this animal is prepared into leather, for an inferior 

 sort of shoes, for the coverings of books, for gloves, and for 

 parchment. 



The entrails, by a proper preparation, are made into strings for 

 various musical instruments. 



The milk of the sheep is thicker than cow's milk. Its taste is 

 somewhat disagreeably strong. It is hence rather made into cheese 

 than used for drinking. The cheese is rich, and of a high flavour. 

 It would probably be still better, if more attention were paid to 

 cleanliness in the preparation. It were perhaps best to leave all 

 the milk of the ewe to her lamb. 



The flesh of the sheep is one of our most valuable articles of 

 animal food. It is neither disagreeably coarse, nor yet so tender 

 and delicate as not to afford strengthening nourishment. The flesh 

 of the lamb is, in the proper season, one of the nicest delicacies 

 that the epicure can desire. 



The bones are useful for various purposes. Of these, as well as 

 of other bones calcined, are made the cupels used in the refining 

 of metals. 



Mr. Pennant mentions the dung as an excellent manure. But 

 it is not often that sheep are fed in such numbers on arable land, 

 as that their dung can be collected for this purpose. 



The modes of managing sheep differ in different countries, and 

 even in the same country. The lambs are seldom separated from 



