204 WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANUIALS. 



manufacture of gloves, and for other purposes 

 where such qualities are necessary. Doubtless 

 the reason why a pair of kid gloves wears well 

 nowadays is because, thousands of years ago, 

 the forefathers of the original owner of the 

 material had to have skins which would stand 

 continual contact with the rough and thorny 

 vegetation prevalent in regions where wild goats 

 make their homes. 



A comparison of the horns of the sheep with 

 those of the goat also reveals to us the difference 

 of habit which has so affected the fleece in the 

 two animals. The spiral horns of the sheep are 

 exceedingly ill adapted for passing through 

 thickets, because it is obvious that they would 

 constantly become entangled and hinder the pro- 

 gress of the animal. Among some very ancient 

 records of human affairs we find an example of 

 this — for did not Abraham find "a ram caught in 

 a thicket by the horns " when he was about to 

 sacrifice Isaac ? The very fact that a sheep 

 usually is unable to disentangle himself if hung 

 up in the bushes proves that the position is an 

 unaccustomed one ; although it does seem rather 

 odd that fighting rams, whose horns have become 

 hooked together, and who, one would think, would 



