674 QUADRUPEDS, 



the shoulders, and the thighs, a coarser species. Considerably- 

 more than 9,70O,0O01b. weight of wool are annually exported from 

 Spain during peace; of which, notwithstanding the abundance, and 

 the superior quality of our British wool, more than one.third has 

 usually come to England. 



The African and Guinea sheep form remarkable varieties of this 

 species. Guinea and the desert of Sahara are the places of which 

 they are originally natives, and whence they have been introduced 

 into America. Their form is meagre; their legs long ; ears pen- 

 dent, and covered, not with wool, but with hair; their neck is 

 shaggy; and the covering of the whole body has so much of the 

 dryness and hardness of hair, that it cannot be with any propriety 

 denominated wool. These are conjectured to be the animals named 

 by Leo Africanus Adimain, and described by him as being of the 

 size of an ass, and of the shape of a ram, with pendent ears. 



The Cretan sheep, mentioned by Buffon under the denomi- 

 nation of Wallachian, is remarkable for large spiral horns. The 

 distance between the horns of the ewe enlarges towards their tops ; 

 those of the ram are parallel. They are understood to be natives 

 of Candia; numerous flocks of them graze on Mount Ida: they 

 are also spread through the other islands of the Archipelago, and 

 are frequent in Austria and Hungary. The butchers in these last- 

 mentioned countries prefer them to all other sheep. In size, and 

 in the nature of the fleece, they differ not remarkably from the 

 common kind. 



Those countries of Asia which abound most in sheep, afford yet 

 another variety, distinguished by the amazing breadth and bulk of 

 their tails. 



They do not, as far as we know, differ considerably from our 

 common sheep, in any other respects. They are generally white ; 

 yet sometimes vary in colour. The tail is seldom pointed, but 

 commonly either square or round, much like a cushion. The 

 great size of the tail renders it often so incommodious to the sheep, 

 that it is found necessary to support it with a small wheeled ma- 

 chine. Some of these tails weigh more than 501b.; the common 

 weight exceeds 301b. Persia, Syria, Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bar- 

 bary, and Tartary, all afford this variety. 



Of these sheep with large tails, the tails are not all of the same 

 form: some are short and thick; others broad, and of a moderate 

 length ; others so remarkably long, as to obtain to the sheep that 

 carry them the denomination of long.tailed sheep. The short, 



