ON THE SHEEP OF ZETLAND. 2$9 



tends to illustrate these subjects, naturally claims 

 our attention. 



It is while uninfluenced by the effects of 

 domestication that we can best observe those 

 instincts which guide animals, and trace the ope- 

 ration of external powers which affect their con- 

 stitutions. As the sheep in the Zetland Islands, in- 

 stead of being under the controul of shepherds, 

 are permitted to range according to their inclina- 

 tion, they exhibit in their modes of life, the natu- 

 ral propensities of the species, and we can there- 

 fore, in that country, attain a knowledge of some 

 of the peculiarities which actuate the race. 



The native Zetland sheep is very small, com- 

 pared with those of the southern parts of Scot- 

 land and England, the carcase not weighing more, 

 on an average, than thirty pounds. It is of a hand- 

 some shape, hardy, and very swift and agile. The 

 general length, from the tip of the nose, to the 

 root of the tail, is about thirty-eight inches, and 

 the height, from the top of the shoulder, to the 

 sole of the foot, fourteen inches. The tail seldom 

 exceeds three inches in length. The horns are 

 small, and the ears stand erect. The ram has 

 sometimes four large and beautiful horns. The 

 upper pair' gradually diverge a little backwards, 

 and then curve in towards the ears and sides of 

 the head, in a spiral form, somewhat like those on 

 the head of the black-faced heath ram of York- 

 shire. The lower pair are nearly of a semicircu- 

 lar shape, with the extremities almost meeting 

 under the throat. 



