ct European ancestors--which are known only by the fossil
remains--flows in the veins of all domestic sheep.

The other characteristic marks of the domestic sheep--the wool and the
length of the tail--vary greatly. The heath sheep--the little,
contented, weather-hardened grazing sheep of the Lueneburg and other
heaths--belong to one of the oldest species, and their tails are as
short and their horns as dark as those of the moufflon. A cross
between these two breeds is not distinguishable, even in the second
generation, as has been shown by the interesting experiments in the
Duesseldorf Zoological Garden.

[Illustration: HEATH SHEEP.]

The little, black and red-spotted Cameroons sheep, from the western
coast of Africa, have not a trace of wool. But why should they have?
The negroes need no clothing, and, consequently, they have not bred
sheep with wool; and, besides, such an animal could not live in the
tropics, even if the black man were a much better stock raiser and
breeder than he is. The mane on the neck, and breast of the Cameroons
ram reminds one of the North American sheep; but it must be remembered
that the mouflon and arkal rams have this ornament quite clearly,
although not so strongly defined.

[Illustration: CAMEROONS SHEEP.]

The large, short-bodied and long-legged sheep found in the interior of
western and northern Africa are a complete contrast to the
short-legged, long-bodied little Cameroons sheep. There is a very
valuable pair of the former in the Berlin Zoological Garden--the
Haussa sheep--which are very regularly marked, the front parts of
their bodies being red and the hind parts white. They were brought
from the neighborhood of Say, on the middle Niger, by the Togo
Hinterland expedition. The ram has beautiful horns, and the ewe is
distinguished by two strange, tassel-like pendants of skin that hang
from her neck. This zoological garden also possesses a fine ram from
the interior of Tunis, which is similar in shape to the Haussa ram,
but has shorter horns and a heavier mane. Its color is grayish black.

[Illustration: RAM FROM TUNIS.]

[Illustration: HAUSSA RAM.]

[Illustration: HAUSSA EWE.]

Dr. Heck considers the long tail of the domestic sheep the chief
impediment to the adoption of the theory of its descent from the
short-tailed wild sheep. And yet, in sheep, this member is of
secondary importance, for it varies greatly in form. The short-tailed
heath sheep are just the opposite of t