328 Mr. R. Walker on Ancient Shell 



merits, there are a number of pieces of the bones of the lower 

 limbs of a small ruminant, consisting chiefly of the lower ends 

 of the tibia, of the metacarpal and metatarsal bones, and some 

 of the phalanges. The humerus and femur were absent. That 

 these are bones either of the sheep or goat there can be no doubt ; 

 but whether they belong to one or both species is a question that 

 will scarcely admit of a very decided answer. The difficulty of 

 distinguishing the bones of the sheep from those of the goat 

 when in a detached state is well known. The difficulty, however, 

 is still greater in cases like the present, when it is pieces only of 

 the bones we have to deal with, and these pertaining to a remote 

 period, when the sheep and the goat appear to have resembled 

 each other more closely than our domesticated breeds do at pre- 

 sent. Moreover the sheep of the shell-mounds and of the lake- 

 dwellings had horns like the goat; while both animals, more 

 especially the sheep, had the limbs relatively longer and smaller 

 than in existing races. Presuming, in the meantime, that the 

 most of these are the bones of a small and perhaps half-domesti- 

 cated race of sheep with goat-like horns, as shown by the frag- 

 ment of skull already noticed, and which it may be remarked 

 that, although rather less, it agrees closely with Riitimeyer's 

 figure of the skull of the " Schaf aus dem Oberland von Grau- 

 bunden/' which he thinks may be the descendants of his " Torf- 

 schaf/' or sheep of the lake-dwellings. A similar race of sheep 

 is said to be still preserved in some of the Shetland and Orkney 

 Islands. According to Gastaldi, sheep with goat's horns are 

 also to be met with in the island of Cyprus. Beside these bones 

 that we have ascribed to the sheep, there are a few others which, 

 although they do not differ materially in size or shape, are of a 

 closer and harder texture, and have altogether a smoother and 

 more polished aspect, with the muscular ridges sharper and 

 better defined. These I think may with some probability be set 

 down as the bones of a small goat. 



The relics of the Dog, although not numerous, are character- 

 istic enough : they comprise a number of the molar and canine 

 teeth and pieces of the bones of the legs, all more or less broken ; 

 the lower end of the humerus is the only joint quite entire. 

 These bones indicate a somewhat large dog with rather powerful 

 limbs, perhaps an animal larger than the general size of our 

 shepherd's dogs. The bones are too imperfect to admit of 

 comparison with the measurements given by Riitimeyer of the 

 bones of his " Torfhund," which, he considers, resembled the 

 " Jagdhund " and the " Wachtelhund." I infer, however, 

 that the bones in question have belonged to a larger race than 

 his " Torfhund/' which Lubbock says " was of middle size, and 

 appears to have resembled our present beagles." It seems to 



