36 THE SHEEP. 



those of any other country of Asia of the same extent. The 

 finest and largest are derived from Caubul and the other 

 countries westward of the Indus ; towards the more arid re- 

 gions of the south the Sheep become of diminutive size, and 

 are in many cases covered with short hair, with scarcely the 

 vestige of a fleece. Some of the Indian Sheep have very pe- 

 culiar characters, as the Mysore Breed, the Piirek Breed, and 

 others. 



Africa abounds in Sheep, as in Goats and all the ruminat- 

 ing tribes. In the countries of the great Mediterranean 

 basin, comprehending Barbary, from the Atlantic to the de- 

 serts bordering on Egypt, the races are greatly varied. In 

 many parts, chiefly in the Regency of Tunis, are found the 

 Broad-tailed Syrian Sheep. Some are many-horned, having 

 a coarse fleece. The more common Sheep of the Barbary 

 States have long limbs, ungainly forms, and shaggy hair. 

 They have been termed by naturalists the Long-legged Breed 

 of Africa, which, however, rather indicates a character than 

 a breed. They have a mixed fur, chiefly of hair ; but towards 

 the great mountains inland are found races of Sheep entirely 

 different, covered with a fine wool fitted for the most delicate 

 fabrics of the loom. 



In Abyssinia and the countries of the Red Sea is found a 

 race of Sheep differing entirely from any existing in Europe, 

 and which, if we are to pay regard at all to external cha- 

 racters in discriminating species, must be regarded as a dis- 

 tinct species. These sheep are covered with short glossy 

 hair, with scarcely the rudiment of a fleece. They have thick 

 necks, with well -formed heads. The head, and part of the 

 throat and neck, are black, and the rest of the body is pure 

 white, without any tendency to the rufous colour characteris- 

 tic of our common Sheep. They have short or rudimental 

 tails, and are destitute of horns ; and the fat accumulates 

 largely on the buttocks and inside of the thighs. This race is 

 found in Arabia, and has been carried, by the countries of the 

 Euphrates, into Persia, whence it has been sometimes erro- 



