CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 9. RUMINANTIA. 523 



a single dog. He will even engage a bull, and as the bone of his forehead is much harder than 

 that of any other animal, he is generally victorious in this apparently unequal contest. The bull, 

 according to his custom, lowers his head, and is brought to the ground by the stroke of the ram 

 between his eyes. "When individual strength is not sufficient to afford protection, sheep will com- 

 bine against dogs and other enemies. If these animals sprung from a wild breed, we cannot doubt 

 that these were capable of defense, alike by instinct, activity, intelligence, and strength. If by 

 domesticity we have deprived them of these qualities, it is because we have rendered them use- 

 less ; in their place we have cultivated an unresisting gentleness, placidity, and docility, which at 

 once forces upon man the necessity of giving them protection, and makes them what they are, one 

 of man's greatest blessings. 



PARTICULAR BREEDS OF SHEEP. 



All the breeds of the common sheep in America are derived from Europe. The first settlers 

 brought with them the domestic animals of the countries from which they emigrated, and thus 

 the majority of our sheep were of English breeds. Within the last fifty years special attention 

 has been paid, here as well as in Europe, to the breeding of sheep, with a view to their improve- 

 ment, both in respect to the flesh and the wool ; and, consequently, all the most valuable kinds 

 are common in this country. 



It is an argument in favor of the originality of the wool-bearing breeds of sheep, and against 

 the idea that they are derived from any species of mouflon or ibex, that so early as the ancient 

 days of Tyre and Egypt, these nations produced wool of exquisite fineness. The Greeks early 

 possessed similar breeds, and these, no doubt, were planted, with their colonies, in Spain, along 

 the coast of the Mediterranean. The Romans also, in the time, of Augustus, had fine breeds of 

 sheep, to which they paid great attention, and, doubtless, as Spain passed under their domin- 

 ion, flocks of these were transported thither. From these sources, in the progress of centuries, we 

 may fairly conclude the celebrated Merino was bred. 



There are other breeds of sheep in Spain besides the Merinos, more or less intermixed with 

 them ; but of the pure race it is calculated that there are about ten millions, which are mostly 

 migratory, and termed Transhumantes, being periodically conducted from one part of the coun- 

 try to another, and back again. These Transhumantes are divided into flocks, which, under the 

 care of a mayoral, or chief shepherd, and assistants, migrate from the mountains of the north to 

 the plains of the south in winter, and return back to the mountains in summer. The flocks fol- 

 low the shepherds, who lead the way, and direct the length and speed of the journey : a few 

 wethers, perfectly trained, tread in the footsteps of the conductor, and the rest follow in clue 

 order ; a powerful breed of dogs accompany the shepherds in order to defend the flock from 

 wolves, and a few mules carry their provision and other necessaries, as well as materials for 

 making up the fold at night. This migration extends four hundred miles, and it takes fourteen 

 weeks to accomplish it both ways. To this, popular opinion in Spain, no doubt erroneously, 

 attributes the excellence of their sheep. In the south of France the sheep are in a similar man- 

 ner driven in winter from the mountain regions of the Alps, Cevennes, and Pyrenees, to the 

 softer climes of Provence and Languedoc. 



The history of the Merino in America is too familiar to demand special notice here. It is 

 sufficient to say that, from the year 1802 to 1811, a number of these were introduced into the 

 United States by Chancellor Livingston, Colonel Humphries, and Mr. Jarvis, and thus the foun- 

 dation of the breed was laid. At subsequent periods many others have been imported, and mill- 

 ions have been bred, so that the Merino is as well established in this country as any other, not 

 excepting Spain itself. 



The Saxon breed, an offspring of the Merino, produced in Saxony, and celebrated for the full- 

 • ness and fineness of the fleece, has been also introduced, and is now extensively cultivated. The 

 Merino bred in France, under the care of the government, at Rambouillet/Malmaison, and upon 

 other royal farms, have also been brought hither and mingled with our flocks. The noted British 

 breeds — Soutk-Downs, Cheviots, Bakeivells or Leicesters, Teesivaters, Herefords, Dorsets, Dishleys, 

 , Kents, Devons, Devonshii-e-JVots, Dartmoor-JVots, Cotswolds and Lincolnshires, and many others 



