RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY.

SHEEP.

Ir is, perhaps, unnecessary to inform any reader that the sheep family belong to the great and most useful order of ruminants, having, therefore, the same complex digestive system as the oxen and deer. For a description of the fourfold stomach of ruminating animals, we must refer to the paper on the ox family.* Sheep resemble the goats so closely that Baron Cuvier actually classed the two species in one tribe-the Capride.t The Englishman who compares a goat with a South Down or a Leicester sheep, may marvel much at such a zoological arrangement. But those who have observed the wild goat (Egagrus) of the Caucasian highlands, and also the Mouflon, or wild sheep of Southern Europe, will be fully aware of the little difference between the two races. One means of certainly distinguishing the two has of late years been repeatedly noticed; but this would be of no use to the casual observer. It is simply a structural peculiarity in the foot of the sheep, found in all the domesticated, and in, at least, two of the wild varieties, but never detected in any of the goats. This is a small canal opening at the pastern joint, the true use of which is at present unknown. Some diseases of the hoof arise from this "sac" becominginflamed by sharp bits of gravel entering the opening. Such a mark may be sufficient to enable an anatomist to distinguish any variety of the

Venta

animals were introduced to Britain. The Romans, probably, brought them to our island, and seem to have even established manufactories for making and dyeing woollen cloths. Belgarum, or Winchester, is one of the places where the short wools of ancient Britain were manufactured by Celtic or Latin weavers. Thus, if the Romans massacred the Druids, they favoured sheep and encouraged looms. These primary British sheep are thought to have resembled our present South Downs, upon whose black muzzles and legs we may now look with additional interest.

We must omit, in a paper of this brevity and character, all minute descriptions of the numerous varieties of sheep produced by the care of the scientific breeder, and found in both English and foreign folds. The hornless and long-woolled Leicesters were brought from their original coarseness to their present beauty and value by the perseverance of Bakewell and his successors. The old portrait of the South Down sheep

One

is by no means
attractive, but
this variety has
now become, by
good manage-
ment, the pets
of our Southern
and Midland
farmers.
hundred pounds
of mutton from
a two-years' old
South Down,
and four pounds
of good comb-
ing wool, may
well make this
contented and
well-behaved
sheep a favour-
ite.
We say
well behaved,

for be it known

unto all that Eome of these animals are by no means the quiet and docile creatures which pastoral poets

delight to paint They will break bounds with the utmost determination and scatter thomselves, in par

One high honour seems to belong to the sheep: it was probably the earliest animal brought under subjection to man, and thus became the first link between the human and the brute creation. Abel was "a keeper of sheep," and the ancient Sabæans exalted this first shepherd to the rank of a deity. The Egyptian divinities, Ammon and Cneph, are represented with rams' heads, the statues of Jupiter Ammon have rams' horns, and the flatterers of Alexander the Great placed the same symbols on the heads of his statues. The starry zodiac does honour to this animal, for almost every one knows the rank which Aries (the ram) holds among the constellations. Then we have the mysterious voyage of the Argonauts to recover the famous golden fleece-a story which is yet a puzzle to historian and geographer. Thus, if the sheep has not received the honours of heathen worship paid to the ox, it has been highly exalted by the reverence of early ages.

No records enable us to state the period in which these

* See page 273 of this volume. + From capra, a she-goat.

In such names as capride, etc., the termination ida denotes relationship; thus, capride includes all animals

related to the goats.

once valued Cotswolds of Gloucestershire have gradually approximated to the Leicesters, and even the hardy and useful Cheviot sheep have felt the influence of the pet breed. We must not stop to describe the former Jersey sheep, said to have had five and even six horns on the head; nor can we perplex the reader by attempting to answer the question, how black sheep originate in a flock. We shall also resist the strong temptation to discuss the evidence for

or against a primitive race of black sheep.

But there is a question which cannot be passed over entirely. Do we know the origin of all our domesticated sheep? Most naturalists now agree in tracing all these varieties to the Mouflon or Musmon, the wild sheep still found in the thinlypeopled regions of Southern and Eastern Europe. The traveller and the hunter may yet meet them in the mountains of Corsica, Sardinia, Crete, and perhaps in the highlands of Murcia. This is a

Mountain breed (Ovis Montana), having large horns and a long hairy covering. Whether these four wild varieties have been unreclaimed from the beginning of time, is a question not likely to be answered in a satisfactory manner. It may even be questioned whether one or two of the four do not belong to the goat instead of the sheep family. This may prove to be the case when new Cuviers and Owens shall be able to examine more

fully the structure of the Argali, or of the bearded sheep. It does not, however, appear very probable that our present classification will be disturbed by disco. veries yet to be made.

Curious deviations from the usual form are found in some breeds of sheep. The Calmuck variety exhibits two large humps of fat over each hind leg, giving to the animal an appearance at which Europeans laugh. In the Syrian sheep, we have the mass of fat collected in a tail eighteen inches wide.

Observation of sheep in their wild state completely refutes the notion that these animals are a stupid and helpless race. They will find their way up and down precipices inaccessible to human foot, and manage to provide for their subsistence and safety without the care of shepherds and dogs. We know that the domesticated Syrian sheep will answer to its name when called, just like a dog, running out from the flock to the shepherd at his summons.

We have already alluded to the double covering of wool and hair on the body of the wild sheep, and a few readers may not know that the fleeces of our domesticated breeds have hair mixed with the wool. The result of culture is a decrease of the hair and increase of the wool, and the quality of the latter itself is materially changed by the food and training of the animal. The colder the climate the finer and closer is the wool, as a general rule, while in warm regions the hairy covering predominates. All this is in exact accordance with the requirements of the animal temperature. The hair can sometimes be distinguished from the wool in a fleece by the eye only, but the aid of the microscope is usually employed.. Under such inspection the peculiar organisation of woollen fibre and its admirable fitness for felting are clearly seen. Let one of our

bold and active, though small animal, measuring about three and a-half feet long, and a little above two feet high. The sharply-curved horns are usually about two feet long, and the body is covered, according to Mr. Bell, with a close, short, and fine hair, over which falls the long and coarse wool. Even upon this simple matter there is a dispute. Many naturalists assert that the wool is the short and first covering of the skin, and the long overhanging mass is really hair. This dispute can be settled by the microscope only, and-we must take Mr. Bell's side in this controversy -the outer covering of the Mouflon is woolly. We must inform the reader that Colonel Hamilton Smith seems to question the Mouflon's claim to be the ancestor of all the common varieties. He regards this wild kind as really descended from individuals of the domesticated sheep, which have at some time escaped from the dominion of man. Another wild sheep, the Argali (Ovis Ammon) of Central Asia, is sometimes five feet long, and often possesses horns of an extraordinary size. It appears to have an under-coat of wool and an upper of hair. The Argali has an exceedingly wide range, extending from the east of Siberia across the wild uplands of Mantchuria and Mongolia to the shores of the Caspian Sea. Some naturalists look upon this as the parent of our domesticated sheep, while others regard it as a variety of the Mouflon. This diversity of opinion proves that we are really ignorant of the primary race. Africa also has her wild breed of sheep, which are called "bearded," the long hairs depending from each cheek having the appearance of a double beard. The wool of this animal seems to be very short, while over it falls a mass of hair, fourteen inches long.

America, toc, has her wild sheep, sometimes called the Rocky

readers examine for himself a thread of wool, under a strong microscope. He will see that the fibre is not smooth, but marked by a multitude of projections, crossing the thread in zigzag or wavy lines. So numerous are these points that more than 2,000 have been counted on one inch of woollen fibre. The reader will easily understand that, when a mass of wool is beaten together, all these projections act like so many hooks, holding fibre to fibre, and binding the whole into a felt. This peculiar structure of the wool is, doubtless, of use to the sheep, rendering its covering closer than it could otherwise be.

But

this property is of such vast importance to man, in the manufacture of clothing, that we may be pardoned for supposing that the Creator had human happiness in view when designing the A fibre of Saxon wool laws which govern the growth of wool. was found to have in one inch about 2,700 of these points; a Merino, 2,400; South Down, about 2,000; and Leicester wool nearly 1,900 in the same space. The corresponding values of these wools for felting purposes were in the exact order of the above numbers. It follows, therefore, that a microscope may be of great use in the wool market.

The wool trade of this country has been marked by a little variety. In the fourteenth century England exported wool largely to Italy and Flanders, the sheep themselves being also sent to the Continent by thousands. A large amount of the taxes was even paid in bags of wool, which were speedily exchanged for Flemish coins. Repeated attempts were, however, made during the above period to check the exportation of the raw material. Many duties were imposed, and smugglers were punished by the loss of the right hand, which was hung up At length in the market-places as a considerate warning to all. the non-exporters gained the day, and from 1660 to 1825 it was illegal to send a pound of British wool out of the country. A long fight followed; the woollen manufacturers procured a law for burying the dead in woollen cloth, and used all their influence to increase the quantity of wool in the country by the double process of bringing in foreign and keeping in all the native growth. The great sheep-farmers clamoured for precisely the opposite measures. Could the ovine creatures have comprehended the nature of the battle, they must have felt highly flattered by their influence in English politics. The contest gradually subsided, as wiser commercial views were adopted by all parties.

Though the sheep may not rank as an intellectual animal, it nevertheless largely aided literature in old times. We need but just remind the reader, in passing, that thousands of valuable works must have perished but for the long-enduring parchment, which has preserved the records of past ages.

We ought not to forget the importance of this animal as a religious and knightly symbol. The Divine Teacher of the world employed it as a fit representative of his Church, and the mystical "Lamb" still sets forth to Christendom the one Great Sacrifice. The lamb, bearing the cross, was the ancient symbol of the great order of the Knights Templars, and is still displayed in the Temple Church, London.

If, then, the sheep family be not associated with the grand events of human history, it is sufficiently connected with the civilisation and happiness of mankind to call for some degree of study and reflection.

LESSONS IN ITALIAN.-VIII.
VI-PRONUNCIATION OF DOUBLE CONSONANTS.

As the proper vibrated sound of double consonants can only be acquired by much steady practice, I have to request my pupil readers frequently to read aloud the following table, in which I have selected a series of words showing the difference of pronunciation, and, at the same time, of meaning, caused by the doubling of consonants in words, but for this change, identical:

Cane

SIXTH PRONOUNCING TABLE,

Illustrating the Pronunciation of Single and Double Consonants.

English.

Flake.

Smoke.

We were.

Cheek, side.

ah-tchái-to

ah-fáh-to

ah-noo-láh-rai

Acts of vengeance. Vinegar.

I accept.

Tonic medicines.

Thou knockest down.

Scab, scald.

* One of the exceptional words, where the s must be pronounced with a sharp, hissing sound, though it is placed between two vowels.

I shall now proceed to an explanation of the Italian accents as they are used in Italian writing and printing; for I have already remarked on the accent of tone (an accent not marked in Italian writing and printing), and its primary importance in the enunciation of each word. This is, properly speaking, rather a part of orthography than of pronunciation; but I speak of it here because it is so intimately connected with the rules of pronunciation, and, indeed, with the whole grammar, that I prefer to explain it at the beginning of these grammatical instructions, instead of at the end of them, as grammarians generally do.

1. THE GRAVE ACCENT.

Strictly speaking, there is only one Italian accent, which is the grave accent, marked with a stroke from the left to the right, thus (). Its use is not left to the discretion of the writer, but is regulated by invariable rules; its omission is therefore an infraction of grammatical laws. A characteristic of this accent is, that only final letters of Italian words can be marked with it. It is placed

1st. On the last vowel of those words of more than one syllable, the pronunciation of which requires a very emphatic stress to be laid on that vowel: as, for example, pietà (peeai-tah),* piety, pity; bontà (bon-tá), goodness, libertà (lee-berr-táh), liberty; carità (kah-ree-táh), charity; virtù (virr-toó), virtue; gioventù (jo-ven-toó), youth; però (pai-rô), for that reason, still; am (ah-mô), he loved; crede (kra-dái), he believed; udi (oo-deé), he heard; amerò (ah-mai-rô), I shall love; costi (ko-steé), here; costa (ko-stáh), there; così (ko-seé),† thus.

2nd. On some monosyllables, where, to avoid ambiguity and confusion, the grave accent is used as a means of indicating the difference of signification. For example:

3rd. It is placed on those monosyllables which have more than one vowel as termination, to indicate the necessity of pronouncing them as monosyllables; as, for example: ciò (tchô), that, what; può (pooô), he can; più (peeoó), more; giù (joo), below; qui (kwee), here; sie (seeê), he is seated (for siede). Other monosyllables offer no ambiguity, and must therefore be considered as naturally unaccented, as they can neither be confounded with other words of the same spelling, nor can their

For the sake of consistency of system, I shall not deviate, in these cases, from my usual practice of marking every syllable which has the accent of tone by the acute or circumflex sign. The reader will, of course, understand that these are mere arbitrary signs used for the purpose of instruction, and which must not be imitated when he may have occasion to write words requiring the grave accent.

This is another of those exceptional words where the s must be pronounced with a sharp, hissing sound, though it is placed between two vowels. It is obvious, from its meaning, that, like cosa (kô-sah), thing, it is of the most frequent occurrence.

pronunciation offer any difficulty. To mark these, as is sometimes done, with a grave accent, merely because they are monosyllables, is not only a grammatical fault, but useless, serving no purpose whatever, and encumbering Italian writing with superfluous signs; for example: re (rai), king; fu (foo), was; gru (groo), crane; su (soo), above; ce (tchai), us, here; ma (mah), but; mo (mô), now; no (nô), not; so (sô), I know; me (mai), me; etc.

Of the monosyllable qua (kwah), here, it may be remarked that it is more frequently written without than with the grave accent, and of stè (stê), he stood (for stette), that being an abbreviated word, it is always written with the grave accent.

I shall terminate these remarks on the grave accent with two important rules, of very frequent application in Italian grammar. 1. When any monosyllable, written with the grave accent or unaccented, or when any word of more syllables than one, having the grave accent on its final vowel, is joined to another word so as to make a compound with it, the initial consonant of the latter word (unless an s with another consonant to follow) must be strongly vibrated in pronunciation, and therefore doubled in writing, and the grave accent of the first word taken off. For example :

È (ê), is, and vi (vee), there = evvi (êv-vee), there is.

Più (peeoó), more, and tostò (tô-sto), soon = piuttosto (peeoo-tô-sto), sooner, rather.

never.

Già (jah), indeed, and mai (mahee), never = giammai (jahm-máhee), Dà (dah), give, and mi (mee), to me dammi (dáhm-mee), give me. Fa (fah), do, and mi (mee), to me = - fammi (fáhm-mee), do me. Amò (ah-mô), he loved, and la (lah), her =amolls (ah-mól-lah), he loved her.

Farò (fah-rô), I shall do, and lo (lo), it = farollo (fah-rôl-lo), I shall do it.

Fra (frah), between, and tanto (táhn-to), so much or so long a time frattanto (fraht-táhn-to), in the meantime.

Da (dah), from, and lo (lo), the dallo (dáhl-lo), from the.
Su (soo), upon, and lo (lo), the sullo (soól-lo), upon the.

=

2. Monosyllables, though naturally unaccented, must be marked with the grave accent when, as last syllables of a compound, they are joined to participles or other words. For example:Per (per), through, and che (kai), which = perchè (perr-kái), why, because.

A (ah), to, and do (dô), I give addò (ahd-dô), I apply myself to. Contra (kón-trah), against, and fo (fô), I make = contraffò (kon-trahffô), I counterfeit.

Ri (ree), a particle, and ho (hỏ), I have = rihò cr riò (ree-ô), I have or get again.

=

risò (ree-sô), I know by

Ri (ree), a particle, and so (so), I know hearsay, I learn. Sopra (só-prah), upon, and sto (stô), I stand = : soprastò (so-pra-stô), I am above.

Tras (trahs), a particle, and vo (vô), I beyond or exceed.

Qua (kwah), here, and su (soo), above Mai (mahee), never, and no (no), not at all.

Oi (oee), ah! alas! and me (mai), me= me!

=

go = trasvò (trahs-vô), I pass

= quassù (kwahs-soó), up here.

=

mainò (mahee-nó), no, not

oimè (oee-mái), alas! unhappy

Vice (vée-tchai), substitute, and re (rai), king = vicerè (vee-tchai-rái), viceroy.

And so all the numerous and similar compounds of che, the compounds of su, and of the verbs do, fo, ho, so, sto, vo, etc.

LESSONS IN MUSIC.-XX.
MENTAL EFFECTS OF TE AND RAY (continued).

OUR pupils will diligently study the three following tunes in order to recognise perfectly and familiarly the mental effects of TE and RAY. It will be encouraging to those who have faithfully followed our course thus far, to know how much of the journey they have yet to travel. The present lesson will be followed by one on the varieties of the human voice, which will be illustrated by four songs arranged for three voices. Next will come a lesson on the deeply-interesting subject of transition or " modulation," illustrated by several short pieces arranged for four voices. The subject of "minor" tunes and "the minor scale" will follow. The lessons will conclude with as full a treatment of the subject of melody and harmony as our space will allow. Take courage, then. You have already trodden the most difficult part of the road.