BOOK VII. III. 1-4 



points, has expressed the same thing excellently in 

 the following lines : 



But though the father-ram itself is white, 

 If under his wet palate a black tongue 

 Lurks, then reject it, lest with dusky spots 

 It stain the fleeces of the future race." 



The same reasoning applies both to red and to black 2 

 rams, in whom, likewise, as I said just now, neither 

 the tongue nor the palate ought to be different in 

 colour from the wool, still less should the whole skin 

 be variegated with spots. Sheep, therefore, should 

 never be bought unless they still have their wool on 

 their backs, so that it may be easier to see that they 

 are of one colour only, because, unless this is a 

 prominent feature of the rams, the marks on the father 

 generally persist in the offspring. 



The points which are most highly esteemed in a 3 

 ram are breadth and height of stature, a belly which 

 hangs down and is woolly, a very long tail, a thick 

 fleece, a broad forehead, large testicles and curling 

 horns — not because such a ram is more useful (for it is 

 better without horns), but because horns do much less 

 harm if they are curling than if they are up-standing 

 and spreading. In some localities, however, where 

 the climate is damp and windy, we should prefer that 

 both he-goats and rams should have very large horns, 

 because, being thus wide-spreading and lofty, they 

 protect most of the head from the storm. So, if the 4 

 winter generally tends to be severe, we shall choose 

 rams of this type ; if it is milder, we shall prefer 

 a ram which is hornless ; for there is this dis- 

 advantage about a sheep with horns, that, being 



- ^ « Vergil, Georg. III. 387 ff. 



239 



