64 
On  the  Purik  Sheep  of  Thibet. 
time  been  giving  suck  ; they  are  in  good  stock-order,  and  have 
every  appearance  as  if  they  would  fat  kindly,  but  from  their  size 
can  never  attain  great  weight.  I suppose  when  fat  they  would 
average  from  32  to  40  lbs.  each.  I think  from  two  to  three  may 
be  kept  at  the  same  cost  as  one  common  sheep.  The  texture  of 
the  wool  is  good  in  quality,  and  according  to  their  size  they 
produce  a fair  quantity ; the  coats  on  the  back  of  those  lambed 
last  April  are  remarkably  thick  and  close  ; cold  could  hardly 
penetrate.  In  their  native  country  they  are  clipped  twice  a-year; 
perhaps  we  ought  to  do  the  same  here.  I would  recommend 
trying  part,  if  not  all,  another  year.  They  have  been  fed  on  hay 
with  a few  Swede  turnips  during  the  winter,  entirely  exposed  to 
all  weathers.  There  is  a shed,  but  they  seldom  go  into  it.  I 
am  quite  satisfied  that  they  will  live  and  do  well  on  the  same 
food  as  other  sheep,  though  we  were  told  that  they  must  be  kept 
on  dry  hay. — I am,  Sir,  very  respectfully,  your  most  humble 
servant, 
Andrew  Toward. 
Osborne,  Feb.  13,  1850. 
The  flock  now  numbers  15 — 1 ram  and  14  ewes;  it  is  rather 
remarkable  that  out  of  so  many  lambs  there  is  not  one  male.  I 
had  them  clipped  on  the  20th  of  last  month ; the  wool  weighed  as 
follows : — 
Fleece  of  Ram  ....  5 lbs. 
3 Old  Ewes  .....  8 
3 Teg  Ewes  .....  64 
Osborne,  May  12,  1850. 
A.  T. 
Note  by  Mr.  Pusey. 
This  very  curious  breed  of  sheep  was  discovered  by  Mr. 
Moorcroft  during  his  adventurous  exploration  of  Thibet  about 
thirty  years  since.  He  spoke  of  them  in  a letter  written  during 
that  journey,  and  published  by  the  Ro)al  Asiatic  Society  in  their 
Transactions.*  Falling  a victim  to  the  hardships  of  his  expe- 
dition, he  has  left  us  no  further  account,  nor  can  I find  any 
fresh  description  of  these  sheep  by  any  subsequent  writer. 
The  original  letter  of  our  unfortunate  and  adventurous  coun- 
tryman, throwing  light  also  on  the  agriculture  of  a wild  district, 
that  lies  at  the  northern  foot  of  the  loftiest  mountains  in  the  world, 
beyond  not  the  Himalayas  only,  but  the  general  range  of  Euro- 
pean enterprise,  though  immediately  adjoining  the  scenes  of 
our  late  Indian  victories,  will  be  read  with  interest  even  now. 
* Vol.  i.  p.  49. 
