THE HORNED ANIMALS— MUSK-OX. 



465 



this completes the dentition. All breeds affiliate 

 readily with each other and for this reason they may 

 easily be improved. 



Foes Dangerous In Germany this valuable domestic 

 to the Domes- animal has few foes; in the north and 

 tic Sheep. south of Europe, however, the Wolf 

 is prone to hang about the outskirts of flocks. In 

 Asia, Africa and America the larger species of the 

 Cat tribe and larger kinds of wild Dogs pursue the 

 defenseless creature, and in Australia the Dingo and 

 the Tasmanian Wolf prey upon it. Bruin, the Bear, 

 may also occasionally regale himself with a Sheep. 

 Eagles and Horse-kites are dangerous foes of lambs. 

 On the other hand those Sheep which suffer most 

 from these enemies possess greater immunity from 

 the ravages of diseases and so the damage is about 

 equalized. The most frequent of all diseases in 

 Sheep is staggers, which is most common among 

 young Sheep; it is caused 

 by the presence of a para- 

 sitic worm (Tama ccenuncs) 

 in the brain. Other intes- 

 tinal worms, the so-called 

 Flukeworms (Distoma hep- 

 aticum), cause consumption 

 of the liver, and Thread- 

 worms cause consumption 

 of the lungs. Sheep are 

 also tormented by exter- 

 nal parasites, such as the 

 Sheep-ticks (belonging to 

 the genus Hippoboscidce) 

 and the Mites. Then they 

 are subject to hemorrhage 

 of the kidneys, to a dis- 

 temper in the feet, known 

 as the hoof-rot, to the 

 smallpox, wind colic, and 

 other diseases which are 

 often fatal. 



A Sheep may become 

 fourteen years old; but it 

 loses most of its teeth as 

 early as the ninth or tenth 

 year of its life. This ren- 

 ders it unable to maintain 

 itself by grazing and then, 

 if it is to be used for food 

 purposes, it has to be fat- 

 tened and killed with all 

 possible speed. 



THE MUSK-OX. 



In the high latitudes of 

 the far north, in those des- 

 olate regions where the 

 ground thaws but partially 

 in summer, where dwarfed 



trees endure a miserable existence, wherever the 

 patches of moss and lichen extend, there the Rein- 

 deer and Musk-ox roam through the inhospitable 

 country. Formerly these Ruminants ranged much 

 more to the south. The Musk-ox has, as Duncan 

 says, had a hard struggle for life, as we can see by 

 the fragments of bone it has left in many an old 

 river bed of Europe and Asia. The southern bound- 

 ary of its range lay over fifteen degrees of latitude 

 more southward, while it now begins beyond the 

 sixtieth parallel of north latitude in America, the 

 only continent it still inhabits, and in which it is 

 numerously found. 



Physical Pecul- The Musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus), 

 iarities of the called Umingarok by the Eskimos, 

 Mush-ox. combines the peculiarities of Sheep 

 and Oxen in a curious way, and it therefore seems 

 justifiable to consider it as a representative of a dis- 

 tinct sub-family. The absence of a dewlap under 

 the throat, the peculiarity of its facial conformation, 

 the shortness of the stub-like tail, the peculiarly 

 shaped hoofs and the presence of only two mamnae: 

 all these features serve to differentiate the animal as 

 decidedly from the other Oxen, as they suggest an 

 affinity to the Sheep. The total length amounts to 

 about eight feet two inches, inclusive of the tail, 

 which occupies nearly three inches; the height at 

 the shoulders is three feet eight inches. The bulky 

 body is supported by short, vigorous legs, the neck 

 is short and thick, the tail really nothing but a stub 

 buried in the fur; the head is very clumsy and pro- 



XJUH'""* 



PERSIAN DOMESTIC SHEEP. The variety of domestic Sheep found in Persia and adjacent countries 



is especially noted for the accumulations of fat which are secreted on the posterior part of the body around the 

 root of the tail. {Ovis aries steatopyga persica.) 



portionately narrow and high; the forehead is for 

 the greater part covered by the horns; the eye is 

 small, the mouth large and ill-shaped, and equipped 

 with thick lips. The horns are ridged longitudinally 

 from their base to their middle. Their manner of 

 growth is peculiar; after emerging from the forehead 

 they first curve slightly backward, lying close to the 

 head; then they sweep straight downward, then turn 

 forward and outward and their pointed tips finally 

 curve upward again. An exceedingly thick fur 

 clothes the body, being of surprising density on the 

 face and legs. The relatively strong outer fur be- 

 comes longer from the lower portion of the under 



