144 | THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. — 
One thing is very remarkable as to the sheep: from the 
westward till you get to the river Adur all the flocks have 
horns, and smooth white faces, and white legs, and a hornless 
sheep is rarely to be seen; but as soon as you pass that river 
eastward, and mount Beeding Hill, ail the flocks at once 
become hornless, or as they call them, poll-sheep; and have, 
moreover, black faces with a white tuft of wool on their fore- 
heads, and speckled and spotted legs, so that you would think 
that the flocks of Laban were pasturing on one side of the 
stream, and the variegated breed of his son-in-law Jacob were 
cantoned along on the other. And this diversity holds good 
respectively on each side from the valley of Bramber and 
Beeding to the eastward, and westward all the whole length 
of the downs. If you talk with the shepherds on this subject, 
they tell you that the case has been so from time immemorial ; 
and smile at your simplicity if you ask them whether the situ- 
ation of these two different breeds might not be reversed. 
However, an intelligent friend of mine near Chichester is 
determined to try the experiment; and has this autumn, at the 
hazard of being laughed at, introduced a parcel of black-faced 
hornless rams among his horned western ewes. The black- 
faced poll-sheep have the shortest legs and the finest wool. 
As I had hardly ever before travelled these downs at so late 
a season of the year, I was determined to keep as sharp a look- 
out as possible so near the southern coast, with respect to 
the summer short-winged birds of passage. We make great 
inquiries concerning the withdrawing of the swallow kind, 
without examining enough into the causes why this tribe is 
never to be seen in winter; for, the disappearing of the latter 
is more marvellous than that of the former, and much more 
unaccountable. The //rundines, if they please, are certainly 
capable of migration, and yet no doubt are often found in 
a torpid state; but redstarts, nightingales, white-throats, black- 
Caps, etc., are very ill provided for long flights; have never 
