265 
1880 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
The Iceland Sheep. 
Sheep do not make any exception to the general 
rule of the great variation of animals under domes¬ 
tication. They are to a large extent creatures of cir¬ 
cumstance, and by degrees, sometimes slowly, and 
at other times rapidly, they change their outward 
form, and mental characteristics, to suit the condi¬ 
tions under which they are 
placed. We would not 
expect that the sheep of 
the cold and frozen region 
of Iceland to be the 
same as those which have 
adapted themselves to our 
warmer and richer pas¬ 
tures. In the accompany¬ 
ing engraving a native 
Iceland sheep is present¬ 
ed, and it will be seen to 
be different in many re¬ 
spects from those we grow 
for profit. The accounts 
of these sheep, given us 
by travellers, and Iceland¬ 
ers who have moved tothis 
country, are interesting in 
showing the widely differ- 
' ent circumstances under 
which they live. They 
are rarely sheltered from 
the severities of the cli¬ 
mate at any season, and 
little or no systematic pro¬ 
vision is made for feeding 
them in winter. They find 
shelter as best they can, 
behind jutting rocks, and 
in narrow caverns in the 
mountains. When over¬ 
taken by storms, they are 
often so blinded by the 
drifting snow, that whole herds in their wild haste 
to reach some shelter, rush over steep cliffs and prec¬ 
ipices, and are killed. When they find themselves 
surrounded by the storm, or are “ lost,” as we 
might say, the frightened sheep turn their heads to¬ 
wards each other and huddle together as closely as 
possible, so that by the united heat of their bodies, 
they may be able to out-last the cold of the storm. 
One writer says ; “ Those in the center relieve in 
turn, those who in 
the outer part of the 
circle,are exposed to 
the greater severity 
of the blast; thus 
necessity sharpens 
the inventions of 
beasts as well as of 
men.” “The only 
kindness which 
these animals re¬ 
ceive from their 
keepers in the win¬ 
ter, is being fed on 
fish bones or frozen 
offal, when their 
natural food is 
buried too deep even 
for their ingenuity 
and patience to 
reach.” It can be 
seen that these 
sheep have a hard 
life to lead ; and the 
care and attention 
which they get from 
their owners, is in 
no sense commen¬ 
surate with that 
which they give in 
return. It would be natural to expect that ani¬ 
mals thus exposed to storm and cold, would 
be protected with a pretty good coat of their own 
make, and such is the case. It consists of long 
coarse hair, which extends a number of inches 
above the dense covering of close wool upon the 
body. The fleece is thus made up of two quite dis¬ 
tinct materials; and on this account, though it 
may furnish the best protection for the sheep, is 
not of first quality for the weaver. The difficulty 
of separating the two kinds of wool, is a serious ob¬ 
jection to the more general keeping of this hardy 
sheep. They cannot hope to compete with our 
greatly improved breeds, and if introduced at all, 
it should be only as a matter of curiosity. This 
A SPECIMEN OF NATIVE ICELAND SHEEP. 
fact is given as an answer to a direct question ; 
it coming from an Icelandic settlement, the people 
of which were inclined to import and grow their 
native sheep. One of the leading peculiarities of 
the Iceland sheep, is the number of their horns, 
they usually having more than two, and sometimes 
eight. The one in the portrait has three, two of 
them much after the ordinary kind in position and 
general shape, while the third is back and between 
THE “PEETSI ” OK ZEBIiA OF THE PLAINS. 
them, and rising to one side. The supernumerary 
horns seem to follow no rule either as to numbers, 
or position upon the skull. When there are more 
than five horns they are placed in two rows. The 
use of this extra number of these curious out¬ 
grows from the head is not clear to see ; they 
certainly do not appear to be very ornamental. 
Peetsi, or the Zebra of the Plains. 
The history of the horse, that greatest helper to 
man among the animals, is lost in antiquity. The 
breeds and varieties that have been produced, 
through the many ages that this animal has been, 
bred, are almost endless. Whatever may have been 
the origin of the horse, and whatever the country 
from which he has become 
spread over almost the 
entire world, there are cer¬ 
tain animals that are his 
near relatives, and still in 
the wild or natural state. 
The horse, the ass, the 
quagga, and the zebra, are, 
in fact, so much alike in 
their important characters 
that naturalists believe 
they all came from the 
same ancestral stock. 
Buffon, one of the most 
noted naturalists of his 
day, went so far as to state 
that the quagga was a hy¬ 
brid between the horse 
and the ass, and therefore 
of very near kin to the 
somewhat celebrated 
light - heeled domestic 
beast,the mule; a view that 
naturalists of the present 
day do not accept. The 
true zebra is a native of 
the mountainous regions 
of South Africa, and dif¬ 
fers from the horse in 
several points ; its tail is 
furnished with long hairs 
only towards the tip—a 
point which shows its 
nearer kinship to the ass 
than the horse. The hind legs of the zebra are 
without warts; the neck is much curved, the mane 
short and standing erect. The head, neck, body, 
and legs, are all striped with black bands upon a 
background of dirty colored white, or white slight¬ 
ly tinged with yellow. It is considerably smaller 
than the average horse, being about 12 hands in 
bight. Besides the zebra of the mountains (Asinus 
Zebra), there is another found on the plains north 
of the Orange River, 
which is regarded as 
a distinct species. 
Asians Burchtlli of 
the naturalists, the 
Peetsi of the natives, 
the “ Dauw ” of the 
Boers, and the Zebra 
of the Plains, of the 
English. This,which 
is the animal shown 
in the engraving, has 
a more comely fig¬ 
ure than the zebra 
proper, and its ears 
and tail are more 
like those of the 
horse, its tail being 
furnished with hairs 
much nearer the root 
than is that of either 
the zebra or quagga . 
Especially in its 
voice, which is a 
shrill and sharp 
neigh, with nothing 
like the bray of the 
ass, its closer rela¬ 
tionship to the horse 
is shown. Like the 
zebra and other related animals, it lives in herds, 
which, when attacked, form a compact circle with 
their heads towards the center, and their organs oP 
defence, their heels, presented to the enemy; these 
they are said to use with such effect, and deal out 
kicks with such force and frequency, that they are 
able to repel even the quick and ferocious leopard. 
