52 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 



In the selection of their food, few animals dis- 

 cover greater sagacity than the Sheep : nor does 

 any domestic animal shew more dexterity and 

 cunning in its attempts to elude the vigilance of 

 the shepherd, in order to steal such delicacies as 

 are agreeable to its palate. 



Besides its hardiness in enduring great severi- 

 ties of weather, the natural instinct of the Sheep, 

 in foreseeing the approach of a storm, is no less 

 remarkable : in their endeavours to secure them- 

 selves under the shelter of some hill, whole flocks 

 have frequently been buried for many days under 

 a covering of snow, and have afterwards been 

 taken out without any material injury. Thus 

 beautifully described by Thomson : 



" Oft the whirlwind's wing 



" Sweeps up the burthen of whole wi-ntry plains 

 " At one wide waft; and o'er the hapless flocks, 

 " Hid in the hollow of two neighbouring hills, 

 " The billowy tempest whelms." 



There have been instances where Sheep, at the 

 approach of a storm, have fled for shelter to a 

 neighbouring cottage, and taken refuge with their 

 shepherd. 



The variety in this creature is so great, that scarce- 

 ly any two countries produce Sheep of the same kind : 

 there is found a manifest difference in all, either in 

 the size, the covering, the shape, or the horns. 



The woolly Sheep is found only in Europe, and in 

 the temperate provinces of Asia. When transported 

 into warmer climates, it loses its wool, and becomes 

 hairy and rough ; it is likewise less fertile ; and its 

 flesh no longer retains the same flavour. 



No country produces finer Sheep than Great 

 Britain: their fleeces are large, and well adapted 

 to the various purposes of clothing. The Spanish 



