THE SHEEP. 



163 



for an answer to the question, — Where did the 

 sheep get its wool from ? we shall find an ex- 

 planation also of the other two characteristics 

 which now prevent it from holding its own in 

 the wild state. 



Seven years' old unshorn ewe. 



The wool was of course developed primarily to 

 protect the sheep from cold. But from what 

 cold '^ The cold of winter ? That can scarcely 

 be, since the wool shows a tendency in all our 

 domestic sheep to persist and continue growing 

 all the year round. The cold of arctic climates ? 

 That also must be excluded, since no sheep, 

 either tame or wild, thrives in the extreme North. 



