6 NATURAL HISTORY. 



" Endowed by nature," as Mr. Spooner, in his work on the Sheep aptly puts it, " with a 

 peaceable and patient disposition, and a constitution capable of enduring the extremes of tempera- 

 ture, adapting itself readily to different climates, thriving on a variety of pastures, economising 

 nutriment where pasturage is scarce, and advantageously availing itself of opportunities where 

 food is abundant," it is not to be wondered at that the animal has become the companion of man 

 from the earliest times. 



The fleece of the wild species of Sheep is composed of hair with wool at its roots, in the same 

 way that in the Duck there is a covering of feathers and down. In the domesticated species the hair, 

 by selection, has been reduced to a minimum, so that the wool forms the only coat. 



In the southern parts of Western Asia many of the Sheep have a curious tendency to the de- 

 position of fat on the tail rather than under the skin of the body generally, and this may occur to 

 such an extent that the thus loaded caudal appendage may contain a large part of the entire 

 weight of the body. 



The Astracan breed, of small size, has a fine spiral black and white wool, sometimes entirely 

 black, which is obtained from the lamb when the finest furs are required. 



Of all the breeds of Sheep the Merino of Spain is one of the most important, on account of 

 the excellence of its wool. In England the breed can hardly be said to exist, because the damp- 

 ness of the climate does not suit its constitution. It is extensively found in Germany, and is the 

 Sheep of Australia. The animal is small, flat-sided, and long-legged. The males have long horns, 

 these appendages being absent in the females. The face, ears, and legs are dark, and the forehead is 

 woolly, at the same time that the skin about the throat is lax. The body- wool is close-set, soft, 

 twisted in a spiral, and short. 



In Great Britain the breeds of Sheep are very numerous, some of the best being of quite recent 

 origin. First among the heavy breeds are the Dishley, or Improved Leicester's, which, from their 

 early maturity, aptness to fatten, smallness of bone, and gentle disposition, well deserve the high 

 repute in which they stand. It is to the persevering energy and acuteness of Mr. Bakewell that we 

 are indebted for the present animal, which in origin is far from pure bred. His aim was entii-ely 

 in the direction of the carcass, and in his object he and his followers have quite succeeded, notwith- 

 standing an inherent delicacy in constitution and an inferiority of the wool. " The head of this 

 breed," we are told, " should be hornless, long, small, tapering towards the muzzle, and projecting 

 horizontally forwards ; the eyes prominent, and with a quiet expression ; the ears thin, rather long, 

 and directed backwards ; the neck full and broad at its base, where it proceeds from the chest, but 

 gradually tapering towards the head, and being particularly fine at the junction of the head and neck ; 

 the neck seeming to project straight from the chest, so that there is, with the slightest possible 

 deviation, one continuous horizontal line from the rump to the poll ; the breast broad and full ; the 

 shoulders also broad and round, and no uneven or angular formation where the shoulders join either 

 the neck or the back, particularly no rising of the withers or hollow behind the situation of these 

 bones ; the arm fleshy through its whole extent, and even down to the knee ; the bones of the leg 

 small, standing wide apart, no looseness of skin about them, and comparatively bare of wool ; the chest 

 and barrel at once deep and round ; the ribs forming a considerable arch fi-om the spine, so as in some 

 cases and especially when the animal is in good condition to make the apparent width of the chest 

 even greater than the depth ; the barrel ribbed well home ; no irregularity of line on the back or the 

 belly, but on the sides, the carcass very gradually diminishing in width towards the rump ; the 

 quarters long and full, and, as with the fore-legs, the muscles extending down to the hock ; the thighs 

 also wide and full ; the legs of a moderate length ; the pelt moderately thin, but soft and elastic, 

 and covered with a good quantity of white wool, not so long as in some breeds, but considerably 

 finer." 



The large-sized Lincoln Sheep, with lengthy fleece, those of the Cotswold Hills, the Teeswater, 

 and Romney Marsh, are also heavy breeds, not equal in the totality of their points to the Improved 

 Leicesters, although excelling them either in quantity of wool or hardiness of constitution. 



The Short- woolled Southdowns, with close-set fleece of fine wool, face and legs dusky brown, 

 curved neck, short limbs, and broad body, is one of the oldest and most valuable unmixed breeds 

 that we possess. Their mutton greatly excels that of the Improved Leicesters, which, taken in 



