72 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



to bend outwards at the tips ; as a rule, horns are 

 present in both sexes, although it is by no means 

 uncommon to find hornless individuals, more 

 especially among the ewes. The shape of the 

 horns is very constant, departures from the normal 

 type being rarely seen. Four horns are, however, 

 not infrequently developed, although apparently 

 less often than in the northern loaghtans. In two- 

 horned rams the horns are relatively large, long, 

 and thick, especially at the base, from which they 

 gradually but slightly diminish in calibre to the blunt 

 tip. They curve in the usual mouflon-like spiral, 

 without rising much above the level of the crown of 

 the head. Although its thick coat of woolly hair 

 makes it appear somewhat larger, the tail is really 

 as short as in the northern loaghtan breeds, and 

 contains only the same number of vertebrae. The 

 coat differs from that of the continental northern 

 breed only in the circumstance that the whole 

 head, as well as the belly, is clothed with short 

 hair, and that the hair on the body is shorter 

 and more aggregated into knotty tufts. There is, 

 however, a layer of long outer hair, which attains a 

 length of 5 or 6 inches, and hangs down the sides 

 of the body in knotty ringlets which communicate 

 to the animal a somewhat goat-like appearance. 

 The fine under-wool is completely concealed by 

 this long outer hairy covering. As a rule, the 

 head, under-parts, and limbs are black, and the 



