CHAPTER IV 



THE SHORT-TAILED EUROPEAN BREEDS 



As mentioned in the preceding chapter, with the 

 exception of the arui, or udad, of Northern Africa, 

 which, as explained later, represents an altogether 

 distinct type, all the species of wild sheep are 

 characterised by their short and deer-like tails. 

 It is, therefore, manifest that the breeds of domesti- 

 cated sheep which have the shortest tails are those 

 which come nearest to their wild progenitors ; and 

 it is very noteworthy that such short-tailed breeds, 

 alike in Europe and Asia, are to be found either 

 in mountain ranges, or on rocky islands with a 

 cold climate, or, in other words, in situations more 

 or less closely resembling the haunts of the various 

 wild species. The medium and long-tailed breeds, 

 which, as we have seen, have acquired an abnormal 

 development of their caudal appendages, are, on the 

 other hand, to be found for the most part on rich 

 lowland pastures. 



The very general practice of docking the tails 

 of the longer-tailed European breeds has tended 

 to a great extent to obscure the fact that a number 

 of breeds, both in Europe and Asia, are naturally 



