“You are quite right,” said their mentor, “as the argali far surpasses the sheep in intelligence and activity. The argali is graceful in figure, wonderfully sure of foot, his vision and heaving are of the keenest, and when there is any danger near he is always on the alert to discover it. Read what a hunter say of the Ovis montana or Rocky Mountain sheep,” he continued, as he opened the pages of a book entitled “Sporting Adventures in the Far West,” by J. Mortimer Murphy.

George took the book and read as follows:

“Few creatures are more difficult of approach than the big-horn, for, like all mountain animals, it is exceedingly keen of scent, unusually vigilant, and so cautious that it carefully reconnoitres a country from an elevated stand-point ere it presumes to advance toward it. The Nimrod who would place the head of the big-horn among his trophies of the chase, must be not only of an active and vigorous form to bear steep mountain climbing and a rarefied atmosphere, but he must also possess the qualities of patience, perseverance and hardihood, for its pursuit may lead him through deep and gloomy precipices, and over ground so stony and rough as to seem impassable.

“When a flock is migrating to new pastures the sentinels or leaden carefully scrutinize the country before them from every commanding position, and when they are satisfied with its appearance the whole party advance boldly, and having made it their head-quarters, throw out vedettes, generally males, who mount guard on elevated crags or hillocks, and vigilantly survey their surroundings until their companions have dined, when all seek shelter amidst crags, small pine or fir coppices, and inaccessible shelves of rock or somber canyons, where no ordinary enemy can follow them without making its presence known.

“When a sentinel detects the approach of a suspicions object, he sounds an alarm at once by a few loud and peremptory hissing snorts; this brings the flock huddling together, the lambs and ewes in the center; and when the column is formed, all dash for the highest ridges at their best pace, and never stop until they have sought a safe refuge among crags or chasms. The advance is always led by a sturdy ram, one that is generally looked upon as the leader, and the rear and flanks are carefully guarded by the young males. In regions where they are little disturbed they raise their heads every few minutes while feeding and survey their surroundings; and as they are both sharp of eye and keen of scent it requires the most careful stalking to approach them within shooting range without being discovered. They will get the scent of a hunter to windward seemingly half a mile away; and when that terrifying odor is made known to the flock they display the greatest symptoms of terror and dash wildly for the highest pinnacles, now leaping nimbly from crag to crag, or vaulting dark and narrow chasms with the greatest ease, nor do they stop until they have placed a goodly distance between themselves and their most dreaded foe.”

“A common sheep could do nothing like that,” said Harry, as George paused and closed the book.

“Not by any means,” responded Mr. Graham, “as he is heavy in his steps and slow in his motions. His intelligence is low and his constitution could not stand the exposure to the weather that the wild animal endures without injury. Except under very favorable circumstances a flock of sheep would soon perish if turned out to shift for themselves.”

“Then I suppose we cannot find many stories of the intelligence of the sheep as we can of the dog, the elephant and the horse,” one of the youths remarked.

“We cannot,” was the reply, “but to offset the lack of sagacity in the sheep we have its patience and kindness of disposition, in which it is without a superior. The lamb has been in all ages the type of gentleness, and will probably continue so as long as man and the sheep exist together. He is also the type of playfulness, and there can be few more pleasing sights than that of a flock of lambs sporting on the grass or a single lamb playing among children by whom he is kept as a pet. I have somewhere read a story of a lamb that belonged to some children and went out with them one day as he had often done before. An hour or so later the 'lamb came to the house bleating loudly and evidently wishing to attract somebody's attention. When he obtained it he led the way to where the two children had fallen into a shallow well, and though not injured by the fall, which had only been a few feet, they were unable to get out. It seems they were standing on a plank which covered the well; the plank being old and rotten had given way beneath them, but as the well had been filled nearly to the top with earth they suffered no damage. In this case the lamb had the intelligence to understand that help was needed and he went to bring it.

“Sheep will sometimes display considerable cunning in getting into fields and pastures where they have no right to go. On the country farm where I lived when I was a boy we had a small flock of sheep; they were all stupid enough with the exception of one, that used to devote himself to hunting for weak places in the fence between the pasture where they ran and the adjoining field. It was what we called a 'brush' fence, and this mischievous animal used to walk along the line and survey it with great care. When he found what he thought was a weak place he would insert his head through the opening and work patiently till lie had enlarged it sufficiently to permit him to get through. Then the rest of the lot followed 'like a flock of sheep,' and when we went to drive them out the shrewd leader took them in a direction quite opposite to the opening. He seemed to understand that it would be blocked up as soon as discovered and he wanted to keep it for further use.”

Harry asked how many varieties of sheep there are in the world. He had looked through the works on natural history but was unable to find out.

“There are two great varieties,” answered George proudly, as he realized that he had come upon some information which had escaped his brother. “They are the long-wool and the short-wool,” said he, “the former being most useful for the production of meat and the latter for their wool. The long-wooled sheep have the wool straight or slightly curved while the short-wooled kind have it thick and curly. The Leicesters, Cotswolds, Scotch and Welsh breeds are of the long-wooled kind, while the Merino is the most noted of the other sort.”

“That is right,” said Mr. Graham, “and can you tell me which is the most widely known of the short-wooled sheep?”

“I can,” said Harry; “it is the Merino, which was brought into Spain by the Moors and derives its name from the Spanish word merino which signifies 'wandering.' It was introduced into France more than a hundred years ago and has gradually spread all over Europe and to America and Australia. There wasn't a sheep in Australia when Governor Philip went there in 1788, and now that country sends a million and a quarter bales of wool every year to London alone besides what it ships to other countries and consumes at home. The merino is the favorite sheep of Australia, and it has also found a home in the British colonies at the Cape of Good Hope.

“As to the other kinds of sheep,” continued the youth, “they are, as the auctioneers say in their advertisements, too numerous to mention. Almost every county of England has its peculiar breed, some of them being more famous for their mutton than their wool, and others vice versa. Scattered over Europe are many breeds, but it is safe to say that the most of them came from one original stock and owe their variation in development to the differences of climate and modes of rearing. One of the most famous breeds of sheep in England is the Southdown, which is famous both for wool and meat: it has been introduced into France and other countries, and we have a good supply of Southdowns nowadays in America.”

“I am reminded,” said George, “of a conundrum I heard a while ago, and it is about sheep.”

“What is it?”

“Why do white sheep eat more than black ones?”

“I know,” said Harry, “that's a chestnut. It's because there are more of them.”

“Yes,” responded Mr. Graham, “and the naturalists have had much difficulty in separating the one from the other in consequence of the intermediate forms between them. The goat is generally believed to be descended from the paseng or ibex of Asia, and he inherits some of the qualities of his ancestors who dwell among the rugged mountains. He is marvelously sure-footed, and can go where almost any other quadruped would not dare venture.”

“I wonder if it is true,” said one of the youths, “that when two

“But it isn't exactly right,” said George, “at least not for all parts of the world. In Central Asia the flocks contain more black sheep than white ones; the Astrachan sheep is generally black and his wool is very soft and curly. The skin of the Astrachan lamb is used as a sort of fur, and very pretty cloaks, muffs, collars, coats and similar things are made of it.”

“While I was looking up the description of sheep,” said Harry, “I read something about the goat, who may be called his first cousin, when goats meet on a mountain road where it is too narrow for them to turn around or pass at the side, one will lie down and let the other go over him.”

“It has been told so often,” Mr. Graham answered, “that it certainly ought to be true. Not long ago I read of exactly such an occurrence somewhere in Spain, and it was witnessed by several persons. But what is much more likely to happen is that the animals would fight for the possession of the road, and one or perhaps both would be forced over the precipice and dashed to death on the rocks below.

“The goat's power of climbing and his fondness for getting into dangerous places are something remarkable. I have seen in the Alps and also in Algeria the goats browsing on the steep side of a mountain where it would be impossible for a man to climb, and where a single slip or mis-step would send the animal down for hundreds of feet almost perpendicularly. At Constantine in Algeria there is a wall of rock five or six hundred feet high; it is slightly, broken near the top, perpendicular further down, and the goats browse along the broken part, springing slowly from break to break until they can get no farther. Then they slowly ascend the cliff and start out for a new grazing place. The funny thing was that there was plenty of grass elsewhere and they had no occasion to get into such dangerous positions. They seemed to do it for the fun of the thing.”

“You remember they had a goat at the monkey theater,” said Harry, “that climbed upon bottles in the shape of a pyramid, stood on the top of a pole, balanced himself on a table and did other curious things. I wonder somebody doesn't train goats to walk a tight rope, for it must be they could do it.”

“I think I've heard of their doing it,” Mr. Graham remarked, “though I am not positive on that point. I've seen an elephant walk a tight rope, but it was stretched only a foot or so from the ground so that a fall wouldn't injure him.”

The conversation about goats took a wide range and included performances both actual and apochryphal. George asked what variety of goat it was that was credited with eating tomato-cans, umbrellas, boots, and similar things usually considered inedible, and was told he must seek it in the upper districts of New York and at Hoboken and other suburban places. But while Mr. Graham would not aver that the goat lived upon the articles mentioned, he positively assured the youths that he had seen the creature devour newspapers and bill-posters with apparent relish, and that it didn't seem to make any difference to him whether the newspapers were Republican or Democratic, secular or religious. He was sure that the digestion of the goat was one of the best in the world and could justly be envied by a great many men. “But leaving all jest aside,” said he, “the goat is a hardy feeder and can live on very little; he has been called the poor man's cow, as he can be kept by people who cannot afford the expense of a cow and the milk of the goat is rich and nutritious. Invalids are sometimes nourished on it when the milk of the cow does not answer the purpose, and in some countries large flocks of goats are maintained for their milk. The medicinal properties of goat's milk and whey are well known, and cheese made from goat's milk brings a higher price in the market than that from cow's milk.”

“I found what Buffon, the naturalist, said of the goat,” said George, “and it is worth remembering. He considers the goat superior to the sheep both in intelligence and agility. He is stronger, lighter, and more agile than the sheep, he is sprightly, capricious and given to wander, and it is with difficulty he can be confined to a flock. He loves to retire into solitude, and climb steep and rugged places. Though he seems to feel the effects of severe cold, he is not afraid of rain or storms or too great a degree of heat: he cheerfully exposes himself to the sun and without inconvenience sleeps under its most severe rays.”

The various kinds of goat, the Angora and Cashmere varieties, which supply the wool for shawls and other fine fabrics, the Syrian goat with pendulous ears, the Swiss goat which is kept in large flocks and is highly profitable to its owners, and the common goat which is found in all civilized countries of the world, all were discussed and duly considered. But the youths were disappointed in the animal, as they were obliged to offset his numerous good qualities with the fact that he is wayward and unruly, and does not form any serious attachment to his owner. The youths decided that they would not enter the business of rearing goats, but be content with the pet animals they then possessed.

George suggested that it was time to look after their horses. While they are busy with those favorites we will lay down our pen for the present, in the hope that we will be allowed to listen whenever they again discuss the members of the animal kingdom.