THE BO VINES 351 



European and Armenian mouflons, with perhaps a little inter- 

 mixture of some type like Ovis vignei of Central Asia. The hairy- 

 domestic sheep of Syria and Africa resemble most, perhaps, the 

 Armenian mouflon (except that they have long, and sometimes 

 very fat, tails). The domestic sheep of Europe, England, 

 and Northern Asia (barring the difference of tail) offer consider- 

 able resemblance in their horns to Ovis vignei, the urial, and it 

 is noteworthy that this wild sheep has horns in the female. 

 The European mouflon has hornless females. In the domestic 

 sheep there is a curious difference in this particular. In the 

 African and Syrian breeds, which are, I believe, derived from 

 some form very like the Armenian mouflon, the females never 

 have any horns. In the English, European, and North Asiatic 

 sheep the females are horned, and in this important particular, as 

 well as in the shape of the horns in the male, they offer affinities 

 to Ovis vignei. Moreover, the tail in this wild sheep is a little 

 less short than in the mouflon. 



No fossil remains dating beyond the age of domestic animals 

 exist from any part of the British Islands to show that there was 

 an indigenous wild goat. The author believes he is right in 

 saying that such bones of goats as there are, are always found in 

 connection with human settlements, and are of the Neolithic 

 period. Goats have run wild, however, and still exist in feral 

 conditions in parts of Wales, the western islands of Scotland, 

 and on islands off the west coast of Ireland. These Irish wild 

 goats are, perhaps, only represented at the present day by small 

 herds on the cHff-mountains of Achill Island. They are white 

 in colour. Large as are the horns of Welsh and Irish goats, 

 they do not, perhaps, reach the great development met with in 

 the original wild goat, Capra hircus ^egagrus, of Persia, Asia 

 Minor, and Western India. 



Sub-Family: BOVINE. THE OXEN 

 The Bovine sub-family of the Bovidie is thought by 

 palaeontologists to have been of comparatively late origin, and 

 to be the most specialised group of the Hollow-horned Ruminants. 



