SHEEP. 133 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



SHEEP. 



"The foot of the Sheep bringeth wealth." 



NATURE OF SHEEP. Our domestic sheep are so harmless 

 that we are not at first thought likely to see in them the 

 descendants of wild animals. Their shyness, their flocking to- 

 gether and following a leader, and their natural inclination to 

 climb hills and even knolls, recall ,the characteristics of their 

 ancestors, the wild sheep of the mountains. 

 They are more closely allied to our cattle 

 than to other farm stock. Like the cattle 

 they are cloven-footed, have four stomachs, 

 and chew the cud. Cattle are more in- 

 clined to the wet bottomland and the 

 water courses, sheep to the dry uplands. 



t-^ ... . , , , ... FIR. 74. What breed is it? 



Cattle are coated with hair and sheep with 

 wool. The sheep is one of man's earliest farm chattels, provid- 

 ing him with both meat and clothing, and is of very great 

 usefulness in helping maintain the fertility of the soil. 



WOOL. Hair and wool contain nitrogen, as you may prove 

 by burning ammonia being given off. Burn a piece of cotton 

 thread and notice the result. The wool of the sheep is for its 

 protection, and therefore the length and thickness of the wool 

 vary with the climate of the countries in which the sheep are 

 living. The same is true of the hair of cattle, as we see in the 

 case of the shaggy covering of the Highland breed of cattle. 

 Horses exposed to the winter weather grow a coarse coat. 

 Food also affects the quality of the wool. If the food is not 

 uniform the wool will become irregular and be of poor quality 



