a of the
changes wrought in animal life by the influence of man, for domestic
animals are a great aid in the study of natural history. The
accompanying engravings are reproductions of instantaneous photographs
of occupants of the new sheep and goat house--mostly foreign breeds;
but there are a few that belong to that South European-Asiatic group
which are looked upon as the progenitors of the domestic sheep: the
mouflon, of Sardinia and Corsica (Ovis Musimon L.), which has a coat
of brownish red, flecked with darker color; and the slender,
long-legged, reddish-gray sheep of Belochistan (Ovis Blanfordi Hume).
The first glance at these creatures convinces one that they are wild,
not domestic sheep, an impression which is caused chiefly by the
monotonous coloring and the dry, short coat, which bears no
resemblance to the thick fleece of the tame sheep, although the eye is
soon attracted by other differences, such as the shape of the tail,
which is short and thick, and of the horns, which extend over the back
and then turn inward, so that when the old ram is kept in captivity,
it is necessary to cut off the points of the horns to prevent their
boring into the flesh of its neck. Horns of this shape form a strong
contrast to those with snail-like windings and points standing away
from the body. When looking at one of these sheep from the front, it
will be noticed that the left horn turns to the right and the right
horn to the left.

[Illustration: SARDINIAN MOUFLON (OVIS MUSIMON L.)]

[Illustration: BELOCHISTAN SHEEP (OVIS BLANFORDI HUME).]

Former authorities have been unwilling to admit that the domestic
sheep have come from any species of wild sheep of the present time.
They hold that they are the descendants of one or more species of wild
sheep that are now extinct. Recently, however, men have thought more
deeply and freely on such subjects, and Nehring and others have traced
the modern tame sheep back to the mouflon, but not to him alone. It is
thought that in this case, as with other domestic animals, there has
been a mixture of species, and in this connection attention was
directed to the Transcaspian arkal, the argalis of the interior of
Asia and the North African species. Dr. Heck, director of the Berlin
Zoological Garden, thinks that the horns of the tame ram, which are
turned outward, the points being directed away from the body,
constitute one of the strongest proofs that the blood of the argalis
and its extin