DOMESTIC AND SEMI-DOMESTIC ANIMALS 29 



country, feeding as they go, and out there on the almost unlimited 

 ground that is occupied it must be a remarkable sight to witness 

 hill and valley tenanted by the whitened flocks in peaceful security. 

 It aptly illustrates, this advent of the great herdsman, flock owner, 

 or agriculturist, the progress of the world and the custom of nations, 

 and brings back to mind the days when a pastoral life was the chief 

 occupation of mankind. All was not gold that glittered in what we 

 are so fond of referring to as "the good old days," but in olden time 

 the shepherd occupied a prominent position in the world's history. 

 A peaceful and perhaps uneventful occupation it may have been, 

 but one that by degrees has largely regulated the modes and 

 manners of many countries where Sheep have become domesticated 

 and reared in large companies. Sheep are, it should be noted, the 

 first animals which occupy pride of place in the Holy Word, and all 

 are familiar with the references made to them in the Bible and the 

 sacrifices that were made of the firstlings of the flock. Poets, 

 painters, historians and others have referred to the shepherd and 

 his flock both by brush and pen, and the scene of peaceful serenity 

 has become engrained, as it were, in our national history. 



Recognizing then the important position which Sheep have held 

 since the dawn of day, and still hold, we may pass on to remark that 

 although there is just reason to believe that our domestic breeds are 

 descended from such wild species as the Mouflon, the Armenian 

 Wild Sheep and the Urial, there is nevertheless a good deal of 

 information yet to be gained as to their exact origin. It is, for 

 instance, far from being decided at present whether the various 

 domesticated breeds so well known to every one have been derived 

 from a single, or from several, original wild stocks. 



Shortly stated, Domestic Sheep differ from their wild associates 

 in having a coat of shaggy wool instead of hair, and in regard to 

 the length of the tail. No species of Wild Sheep, excepting the 

 Barbary, has a long tail, and Mr. Lydekker notes that "it has been 

 suggested that the long tails of the domestic breeds are due to a 

 kind of degeneracy, although it must be confessed that this does 

 not much advance matters. Unfortunately, geology does not help 

 us much in this investigation ; although it is ascertained that the 

 inhabitants of the ancient Swiss lake-like villages were possessed of 

 a breed of Sheep characterized by their small size, long, thin legs 

 and Goat-like horns." 



In regard to the horns Domestic Sheep vary a good deal, for in 



