132 SHEEP OF THE UNITED STATES AND SOUTH AMERICA. 



The colonists, coming as they did from various districts of 

 their native countries, it is presumed brought with them 

 breeds of sheep pecuUar to those districts ; and having been 

 promiscuously bred, at the period of the introduction of the 

 xMerinos, few of them conformed to any of the varieties of 

 the more distinguished British breeds. 



They were long legged, narrow chested, comparatively 

 slow in arriving at maturity, yielding a coarse white wool 

 of medium length of staple, and the fleeces averaged from 

 3 to 4 lbs. The principal recommendation consisted in being 

 prolific breeders and good nurses ; but their defects greatly 

 predominated, being untractable, impatient of restraint, scaling 

 high fences, and committing often serious depredations on 

 the crops of the farmer. Happily this ungainly and unprofit- 

 able tribe has disappeared, except in portions of the southern 

 States, and their place has been supplied with more profit- 

 able sheep, effected by crossing them with ]\Ierinos, Saxons, 

 and the improved English breeds. 



For the gratification of the curious, rather than for utility, 

 the compiler will notice a singular breed of sheep known as 



THE OTTER SHEEP. 



This unique breed have derived no little fame, not so much 

 however, from their peculiarity of conformation, as from their 

 fortuitous origin ; this being the fact, as the sire and dame 

 of the first individual of the breed were distinguished by the 

 usual characteristics of the natives, long legs, &c. This 

 accidental origin, therefore, is valuable to the philosopher as 

 accounting in part for the numerous varieties of the genus 

 Ovis, now spread over almost every inhabitable part of the 

 globe. Climate and herbage are also prominent causes of 

 difierences in conformation, but accident has undoubtedly 

 had more to do in producing these differences, than is gen- 

 erally conceded. 



The precise point where the Otter breed originated seems 

 unsettled ; Chancellor Livingston states that it was on an 

 island opposite the New England coast ; another writer says 

 it was in Massachusetts, and in a flock which belonged to 

 Seth Wright, and occurred in 1791. It is however, of little 

 moment, as the breed have been abandoned, and become 

 extinct. 



A ewe gave birth to twins, one of which v/as a male, with 

 legs so short, and being turned outward, that, as Chancellor 



