72 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 



THE MANY-HORNED SHEEP. 



THE Iceland Sheep, as well as those of Muscovy 

 and the coldest climates of the north, resemble our 

 own in the form of the body, but differ in the num- 

 ber of their horns, having generally four, and some- 

 times eight, growing from the forehead. Their 

 wool is long, smooth, and hairy : they are of a dark 

 brown colour; and, under the outward coat of hair, 

 which drops off at stated periods, there is an inter- 

 nal covering resembling fur, which is fine, short, 

 and soft; the quantity produced by each Sheep is 

 about four pounds. 



The Broad-tailed Sheep, common in Persia, Bar- 

 bary, Syria, and Egypt, are remarkable chiefly for 

 their large and heavy tails, which grow a foot 

 broad, and, so long, that the shepherds are obliged 

 to put boards with small wheels under them, to 

 keep them from galling. The flesh of these tails 

 is esteemed a great delicacy: it is of a substance 

 between fat and marrow, and eaten with the lean 



