118 THE MOUFFLON. 



horns, by converting them into various articles of domestic 

 economy." 



The Moufflon, generally considered to be the original 

 stock of our domestic sheep, prefers the " difficult air " of 

 the mountain-tops, but is to be found in the great central 

 plains. In size it may be compared to a small fallow deer ; 

 but though clothed with hair instead of wool, he bears a 

 closer resemblance to the ordinary ram than to any other 

 animal. In summer the hair is close and straight; in 

 winter it becomes rough, wavy, and even slightly curled. 

 Its colour is brown on the upper part of the body ; but on 

 the under parts, and inside the limbs, the brown fades 

 almost into white. It is much longer about the throat, 

 and about the neck and shoulders, than anywhere else. 

 The moufflon is almost as active as the goat, and is not 

 less remarkable for strength of limb and sureness of 

 foot. 



From goats and sheep we are carried onwards to those 

 most graceful of ruminants, the Cervidse, or Deer. 



On the eastern side of the Ural, in the wooded border- 

 lands of the steppes, we find the common European Stag. 

 The Ahn, or roebuck of Tartary, inhabits the valleys and 

 plains which lie northward of the snow-capped Himalaya, 

 and extend along the base of the Thian-Shan mountains. 

 Various species of deer wander freely in troops, or in 

 isolated couples, across all the temperate and fertile por- 

 tions of the steppes ; while the Elk, or Moose, which has 

 been already noticed as an inhabitant of the North Amer- 



