THE M O U F L O N, &c. 207 



might introduce changes into the fpecies, or 

 make it degenerate, and endeavour, as in the 

 cafe of the ox, to recall all thefe varieties, 

 and alTthefe pretended fpecies, to one primitive 

 race. 



Our fheep, in itsprefcnt ftate, cxifts nowhere 

 but in Europe, and fome of the temperate pro- 

 vinces of Afia. When tranfported into warm 

 countries, as Guiney *, it lofes its wool, and is 

 covered with hair : Its fertility is diminifhed, 

 and the tafte of its fiefh is altered. In very cold 

 countries it cannot fubfift. But, in cold cli- 

 mates, and particularly in Iceland, we find a 

 race of ihecp with feveral horns, a fhort tail, and 

 hard thick wool, under which, as in mod nor- 

 thern 



* Ovis Africana pro vellere lanofo pilis brevibus hirtis vef- 

 tita ; hoc genus vidimus in vivario regio, VVeftmonafterienii, 

 S. Jacobi dido ; quoad formam corporis externam ovibus vul- 

 garibus perfimile, ve rum pro lana ei pilus fuit. . . . Specie a 

 noftratibus differre non fidenter affirmaverim ; fortaffe quem- 

 admodum homines in Nigritarum regionibus pro capiJJis la- 

 nam quandam obtinent, ita vice verfa pecudes hae pro lana 



pilos ; Ray, Syn. quad. p. 75. In the kingdom of Congo, 



in Loango, and Cabinda, the fheep, inllead of foft wool, are 

 covered with coarfe hair, fimilar to that of dogs. The ex- 

 treme heat of the air, which dries up all the oily humours, 

 is the caufe of this coarfenefs. I made the fame obfervation 

 with regard to the Indian fheep ; Voyage dej. Ovington, torn. 1. 



p. 60. The fheep are pretty numerous along the coafl of 



Guiney, and yet they are very dear. They have the fame 

 figure with thofe of Europe, except that they are one half 

 fmaller, and, inftead of wool, are covered with hair of an 

 inch long . . . The rlefh has not the fmalleft appearance 

 of that of the European fheep, being extremely dry, ^&c. j 

 Voyage de Bofman, p. 237. 



