18 Essay on Sheep. 



tains that are dry, desert, and free from wood^ 

 and upon rocks on which he finds acrid and 

 bitter plants. The ewes lamb before the snows 

 are entirely melted. The lambs resemble 

 young roebucks. Their horns appear on their 

 birth; their hair is soft, woolly, frizzled, and 

 of a deep grey. The stag is not so wild as 

 the Argali; it is almost impossible to approach 

 him; when pursued he makes many turns to 

 the right and to the left, and it often happens, 

 when he finds no rocks or eminences to hide 

 In, he turns upon his steps and passes before 

 the face of his pursuers. He is astonishingly 

 light and swift in the course, and can support 

 a long pu**suit. But, however wild this sheep 

 may be, in its infancy the lambs are easily 

 tamed, and habituated to drink milk and eat 

 hay. The soldiers employed on the out posts 

 have frequently ascertained this by experi- 

 ments." 



It is observable, that though there are strong 

 marks of diflbrence between the Mouflon and 

 the domestic sheep, yet there are also strong 

 points of resemblance. The first has been 

 diminished by cultivation as inconvenient, while 

 the last has been improved on account of its 

 utility. As this quadruped has probably been 

 found throughout all the mountainous parts of 



