228 



The Living Animals of the World 



ground. In the Egyptian breed the tail i& 

 broad throughout ; in the Syrian it narrows 

 to a point. The ordinary weight of the 

 Syrian sheep's tail is 15 lbs.; but in some 

 well-fattened examples it reaches 70 or 

 80 lbs. Ludolph saw in Egypt a sheep's tail 

 of 80 lbs. weight. This overgrown tail is a 

 great encumbrance to the animal. In order 

 to lighten the burden, the shepherds fasten 

 under it a small board, sometimes with wheels 

 attached, to make it easy to draw over the 

 ground. 



In Greece, Wallachia, and Western Asia 

 a fine breed of sheep, quite different from 

 the English forms, is seen. It is called the 

 Wallachian Sheep. When the Zoological 

 Gardens were first founded here, some of 

 these sheep were introduced and crossed with 

 English breeds. The horns are tall spiral^, 

 as in the great kudu antelope. The body 

 is large, and the fleece long and straight, 

 and more like that of the long-haired goats 

 than curly wool. 



There are now few countries in the 

 world to which sheep have not been intro- 

 duced. They were probably among the 

 earliest animals to be domesticated. 

 Certainly they are the first to be mentioned ; 



for we learn that " Abel was a keeper of sheep," while Cain tilled the earth. The feud 



between the keejoer of flocks and the grower of crops 



typified in this ancient quarrel still goes on wherever 



the wild mountain breeds of sheep are kept, for 



there is of necessity always danger that the wander- 

 ing sheep may raid the plots of corn. In Spain a 



curious and ancient set of laws regulates the passage 



of the flocks to and from the mountain pastures 



through the corn-lands. 



It is said that the name of the famous breed of 



Spanish sheep known as IMerinos recalls their foreign 



origin from across the sea, and that they were originally 



imported into Spain from England. Whether that be 



so or not, it is certain that no one could recognise 



them now. The finest merino sheep, especially those 



bred in Australia, into which country they were 



imported some forty years ago, look as if covered 



with a dense growth of moss. The close wool grows 



not only on their backs, sides, and bellies, but on legs, 



forehead, and nose. There are believed to be ten 



millions of merino sheep in S])ain, most of which 



are migratory. They are called " transhumantes," 



and are taken from the jilains to the mountains 



and from the mountains to the plains yearly. These 



/ / J lUt kl I lU 



BLACK-FACED MOUNTAIN-SHEEP. 

 The sheep of the high mountains and heather-moors. 



Photo 



I J. T. Nacman] 



LEICESTEE EWE. 

 A heavj', long-woolled breed. 



IBerkhamstal. 



