SHEEP. 319 



support. The tail is rather long, from six to eight 

 inches, but this is usually removed at a few weeks old, 

 leaving only the stump. In Wales, and the Highlands 

 of Scotland, where there is great difficulty in catching 

 the lambs, the tails are often suffered to remain. The 

 Sheep chews the cud. It is both polled and horned. 

 In some breeds of domestic Sheep, the rams alone have 

 horns, whilst in the mountainous districts, such as 

 Scotland, Wales, and Devon, both sexes are horned. 

 The celebrated Southdown Sheep are polled. The horns 

 of the rams are long, well curved, and much finer than 

 , those of the ewes. The Devonshire ram horns are 

 thick and beautifully curved. Horns are usually of 

 larger size in high latitudes. 



The milk of the Sheep is rich, and of an oily ap- 

 pearance. The Sheep is milked in Heligoland and 

 St, Kilda. In the latter island the Sheep are generally 

 black, with four or five horns : they are small, and the 

 wool is said by the Field to be good, and the flesh 

 excellent. 



Sheep feed in flocks, and graze very closely : in 

 winter they are penned and fed on turnips and swedes. 

 They will eat hemlock without injury. In damp or ill- 

 drained localities Sheep are liable to foot-rot. They are 

 also liable to foot-and-mouth disease, which is extremely 

 infectious. The Sheep has generally one or two lambs 

 in January, February, or March, but this last month is 

 late. Lambs are sometimes born when frost or snow is 

 on the ground, but they suffer more from damp than 

 from great cold. Lambs are frisky and frolicsome, and 

 their bleat is prolonged and plaintive. Screens of straw 

 hurdles are placed to shelter the young from the wind. 

 During the lambing season, the ewes are fed with swedes, 

 beet, etc., with occasionally some dry food, such as hay. 



