4(14 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



The Persian Besides the Merino Sheep I will also 

 SheepaPecul- mention the Persian Sheep {Ovis 

 iarSpecies. aries shuitopygii). This is a fat-but- 

 tocked breed of Sheep which in several varieties 

 closely allied is found in innumerable quantities in 

 central Asia and northeastern central Africa; all 

 the wandering tribes of the northern and interior 

 portions of the country, as well as the free Negroes, 

 breed it. This Sheep is an animal of rather large 

 physical proportions, with small horns, and differs 

 from most other tame species by reason of the fact 

 that its fleece consists entirely of hair instead of 



MERINO SHEEP. A famous species of the domestic. Sheep, which is found in its greatest purity in 



Spain. It is valuable for the quality of its wool and it has been used very largely to improve many breeds of 

 Sheep in Europe, Australia and America. It has the mild, inoffensive qualities of domestic Sheep in general. 

 ( Ovies aries hisfanica.) 



wool. Its pelt resembles that of the wild Sheep, 

 bearing no resemblance to the genuine woolly fleece; 

 and the hairy covering of adult specimens is not 

 suitable for spinning and weaving. The lambs have 

 a woolly coat, which is of exquisitely fine texture. 

 Mental Character The domestic Sheep is quiet, patient, 



of the Domes- gentle, simple-minded, servile, weak, 

 tic Sheep. timid and cowardly, in short, an un- 

 interesting creature. One hardly can ' ascribe any 

 particular qualities to it, for it is characterless. It 

 understands and learns but little and is therefore un- 

 able to shift for itself. If selfish humanity did not 

 accord to it particular protection, it would shortly 

 cease to exist. Its timorous disposition is ridicu- 

 lous and its cowardice piteous. Any mysterious or 

 unusual noise startles the entire flock, thunder and 

 lightning completely unsettles them, and not infre- 

 quently foil all human efforts to render them quiet. 



In the steppes of Russia and Asia the shepherds 

 often have the most arduous tasks in preserving 



their charges. During a snow-storm or thunder 

 storm the panic stricken flocks disperse in a wild 

 stampede, rushing out into the wastes of the steppe 

 like senseless creatures and then resignedly suffer 

 themselves to be snowed under or to freeze, without 

 making any attempt to shelter themselves from the 

 storm or even to seek for food. Sometimes thou- 

 sands perish in a single day. In Russia a Goat is 

 generally used as a leader for a flock of Sheep; but 

 even a Goat is not always able to keep the stupid 

 animals under proper guidance. During a thunder 

 storm they huddle together and can not be made to 



move. "If lightning strikes 

 into the flock," says Lenz, 

 "many are killed at once; 

 if fire breaks out in the 

 sheepfold, the Sheep do 

 not run out but on the con- 

 trary may sometimes even 

 rush into the fire. I once 

 saw the charred ruins of a 

 large fold full of roasted 

 carcasses of Sheep; in spite 

 of all efforts the attendants 

 had succeeded in rescuing 

 but a few." The best man- 

 ner of rescuing Sheep from 

 a burning fold or structure 

 is to let the Sheep Dog, to 

 which they are accustomed, 

 drive them out. 



To a certain degree, how- 

 ever, the Sheep exhibits 

 mental capacity. It learns 

 to know its keeper, obeys 

 his call and displays a cer- 

 tain amount of affection 

 and docility towards him. 

 It seems to have a liking 

 for music, or at least it pa- 

 tiently and passively listens 

 to the bagpipe playing of 

 the shepherd, and it has 

 evidently some premoni- 

 tion of impending changes 

 in the weather. 



The Sheep prefers and 

 ranges in dry and high lo- 

 calities more than in low 

 and damp ones. Accord- 

 ing to Linnseus it feeds on 

 three hundred and twenty-seven of the common cen- 

 tral European plants, refusing to eat one hundred 

 and forty-one. Ranunculus, cypress spurge, meadow- 

 saffron, shave-grass, wild cabbage or skunk cabbage 

 and rushes are poison to it. It thrives best on a diet 

 of various dried plants; a grain diet fattens it too 

 much and has a deteriorating effect on the wool. 

 It is very fond of salt, and fresh drinking water is 

 indispensable to its welfare. 



The ewe usually gives birth to only one lamb, 

 though there are sometimes two and very rarely 

 three at a birth. The little creatures must at first be 

 carefully protected from the influence of sudden and 

 marked changes in the temperature, but later they 

 are allowed to follow their dam to pasture. They 

 cut their milk teeth in their first month; the first 

 permanent molar comes out in the sixth month; dur- 

 ing the second year the two first incisors drop out 

 and are replaced by permanent teeth; the anterior 

 milk molars are shed during the fifth year only and 



