682 



THE ARGALI. 



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Even in the depth of winter the shepherd can safely lie on the ground wrapped in his 

 sheep-skin mantle. For this purpose, the skin is dressed without removing ^he wool. 

 In a state of nature, all Sheep are furnished with a pair of horns, but in the cultivated 

 races these ornaments generally become obliterated. A curious exception to this principle 

 occurs in the many-horned varieties which are found in several parts of A^ia, and which 

 sometimes possess as many as three distinct pairs of horns. The additional or accessory 

 appendages are slighter in their make than the true horns, and are generally placed on the 

 upper parts of the head. Their tips almost invariably take an upward direction, while the 

 true horns generally curl downward, and retain a portion of the tendency to a spiral form. 



ARGALI. Capros/s Argalia. 



GIANTS among the ovine race, the MOUFLONS tower far above every other variety 

 of the Sheep. These animals may be found in several portions of the world, several 

 species being inhabitants of Asia, one of Sardinia and Corsica, and one of Northern 

 America. Of these gigantic Sheep, the ARGALI of Siberia is the most conspicuous, as 

 well for general dimensions, as for the enormous size of the horns. 



The Argali is nearly as large as a moderately sized ox, being four feet high at the 

 shoulders and proportionately stout in its build. The horns of a full-grown male Argali 

 are very nearly four feet in length if measured along the curve, and at their base are 

 about nineteen inches in circumference. They spring from the forehead, and after rising 

 perpendicularly for a short distance, curve boldly downwards until they reach below 

 the chin, when they recurve upwards and come to a point. The surface of the horns 

 is covered with a series of deep grooves set closely together, and extending almost to the 

 very extremities. Firmly as these weapons are fixed upon the animal's forehead, are they 

 sometimes fairly broken off in the fierce conflicts which these creatures wage with each 

 other when they fight for the possession of some desirable female. These broken horns 



