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MAMMALIA. 
state of domesticity appear to have descended from the Argali. 
M. Paul Gervais, however, is of opinion that the Sheep is a 
domestic animal which has never known a wild state. 
The principal characteristics of Sheep consist in the greater 
length of their tails, which usually hang down as low as their feet, 
and, also, in the bony nature of their horns, which are farther apart 
at the base, and shaped more spirally than those of the Argali. 
Further, many breeds of Sheep, in both sexes, are entirely desti- 
tute of horns. 
One thing is certain, that domestic Sheep have a very different 
appearance from their supposed progenitors. The former are pos- 
sessed neither of the slender or graceful shape nor the nimbleness 
of pace which is peculiar to the wild breed. The Domestic Sheep 
is heavy in its tread, and. slow in its motions. In them the long 
and silky bair of the Argali, or Wild Sheep, has almost entirely 
disappeared; whilst their wool, becoming enormously developed, 
constitutes a thick fleece. The amount of intelligence they 
