142 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



that in the opinion of Mr. C. Gaillard^ the zackel 

 sheep is descended from certain ancient Egyptian 

 sheep with long, outwardly directed horns. In 

 forming this opinion Mr. Gaillard believed the 

 zackel sheep to be a native of Crete, but if Dr. 

 Keller is correct in regarding this as an error, the 

 foundation of Mr. Gaillard's opinion is to a great 

 extent cut away. 



According to Fitzinger, rasko sheep (pi. vii. 

 fig. 2), which are chiefly reared in Hungary, although 

 they also occur in Bohemia, resemble zackel sheep 

 in general appearance, but differ markedly in the 

 shape of their horns. Somewhat smaller and 

 standing lower than zackel sheep, they have very 

 similar heads, but with the profile of the nasal 

 region more swollen, and the ears and eyes larger. 

 Although both sexes generally carry horns, it is 

 not unusual for the females to be devoid of these 

 appendages. In the rams the horns are long, not 

 specially thick, and rapidly narrowing towards the 

 blunt tips. From their bases, where they are 

 somewhat approximated, they incline laterally and 

 outwardly so as to form a relatively long but 

 sharply curved double spiral, twisting at first back- 

 wards, and then downwards, forwards, and out- 

 wards. Those of the ewes, when present, have 

 much the same form, but are thinner and shorter. 

 Although the limbs are shorter than in the zackel 



' " Le B^lier de Mendds," Bull, Soc. Anthrop. Lyon, 1901, p. 18. 



