178 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



gascar and Reunion (Bourbon), the Mozambique 

 coast of Africa, Cape Colony, and even Guinea. 

 In the island of Reunion it has been crossed with 

 fat-rumped sheep ; the hybrids from this union 

 presenting a marked resemblance to both their 

 parents. 



The aforesaid introduction of the Persian or 

 Indian dumba into Cape Colony probably gave 

 rise to the Cape fat-tailed breed, or Africander 

 sheep, since the latter, according to Fitzinger,* is 

 the product of a cross between the former and the 

 African fat-rumped breed. Both the parent forms 

 appear to have been in existence in Cape Colony 

 during the early part of the Dutch occupation, but 

 when they were first introduced is unknown. It is 

 a common idea that the fat-tailed breed is indi- 

 genous, but this cannot be the case. Africander 

 sheep present, it is said, such a marked resemblance 

 to their reputed parent stocks as to leave no doubt 

 as to their origin. 



The Africander is a relatively large sheep, 

 although not specially tall. The head is rather 

 large and long, with a flat forehead, a slightly 

 convex chaffron, and the muzzle narrow and 

 rounded. The eyes are unusually small, the ears 

 long, although shorter than the head, not very 

 broad, and slightly narrowed near the tips, and 

 pendent. As a rule, the ewes are hornless, and 



' op. cit., p. 170. 



