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    The Animal Why Book - Pictures by Edwin Noble
    The Animal Why Book - Pictures by Edwin Noble
    The Animal Why Book - Pictures by Edwin Noble
    Ebook93 pages1 hour

    The Animal Why Book - Pictures by Edwin Noble

    By W. P. Pycraft and Edwin Noble

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    About this ebook

    This lovely children's book provides an interesting insight to the anatomy and behaviour of the animals of the British countryside and farmyard. It endeavours to answer questions such as Why are the horns of the deer branched?, Why does the rabbit have a white tail? and Why the Sheep has a woolly coat? Beautifully illustrated throughout with Edwin Noble's black and white and colour illustrations.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateApr 10, 2014
    ISBN9781473393929
    The Animal Why Book - Pictures by Edwin Noble

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      Book preview

      The Animal Why Book - Pictures by Edwin Noble - W. P. Pycraft

      THE ANIMAL WHY BOOK

      WHY THE SHEEP HAS A WOOLLY COAT

      WHENEVER, in regard to tame, or, as they are commonly called, domesticated animals, we ask why they possess this or that peculiarity, the first step to take towards finding an answer to that question is to discover, if possible, what the wild relations of those animals are like. And as often as not we shall find that in the wild animal the particular peculiarity which has excited our curiosity is wanting, or is quite inconspicuous. We may thus be sure that man himself is more or less directly answerable for that peculiarity. And this will lead to another Why? and to a further How?

      To find the answer, then, to the question, Why are sheep woolly? we turn to the wild sheep, of which there are many very different kinds scattered up and down the world, and we find that in flocks of these is there a woolly coat. We must suppose, then, that this wool has in some way come into being through man’s influence, since man first caught wild sheep and made them minister to his wants. And this brings us to the How? Again we turn to the wild sheep, and we find that, though all are hairy in appearance, yet, on raising the hair, we find concealed beneath a shorter layer of under-fur, recalling the down which lies hidden under the feathers of the duck. Now, we must suppose that far back in the dim and distant past man discovered that some of the members of his flocks had more of this wool than others, and that the hides of these more woolly sheep made warmer coverings than those which were less so; perhaps, indeed, he had found that this under-fur could be removed and woven into garments. At any rate, so soon as the properties of wool were discovered, we may be sure he began to show a preference for those sheep which had most of this wool. He began to select—keeping, in short, only those sheep which promised most of the coveted wool. And by so doing, in a comparatively short space of time woolly sheep (that is, sheep in which the outer hair was more or less replaced by wool) were alone kept in his flocks. From this further changes would arise, resulting in the selection of those sheep which yielded the best wool; and this process, indeed, is still going on, and has been carried to its greatest perfection in the breed of sheep known as the Merino.

      It must not be supposed that the wool of the sheep is alike in all the different breeds of sheep. On the contrary, it varies very much, some kinds being long and silky to the touch, others very short. And thus it is that wool which is suited for the manufacture of worsted yarn is quite useless for felting, so necessary in the manufacture of cloth. Even from the same fleece several different kinds of wool are obtained, according to the part of the body from which it is taken. In all sheep a certain amount of the long outer hair, answering to the outer coat of the wild sheep, is found, and this hair is far more abundant in some breeds than in others.

      But this wool grows best in cold, or at least temperate, climates, and serves the purpose of a winter coat, which is cast off as the summer approaches. It is very seldom, however, that the wool is shed after this fashion, for before this happens it is removed by the process known as shearing, and sent to market. In the picture you will notice how different in appearance the sheep looks after the fleece has been removed by this shearing process.

      The production of wool is not the only peculiarity wherein the sheep of our farm-yards differ from their wild relations; for all domesticated races of sheep are born with long tails, as most of my readers will have noticed in watching young lambs at play in spring. But as these long tails would lead to a great deal of discomfort, and even suffering, if allowed to remain, they are cut off as soon as the lambs are old enough to bear the operation.

      Most of the sheep that one sees in the fields nowadays are hornless. But there are many kinds or races of sheep which have very long and beautifully twisted horns, as, for instance, Scotch sheep, and the Dorset and Norfolk breeds. But these horned kinds are gradually disappearing, because the hornless breeds are preferred. These horns, however, are not always of the spirally twisted shape, for in some they resemble those of goats, and in one race met with in Eastern Europe, known as the Wallachian sheep, they grow to an enormous length, and resemble two corkscrews! An Indian race, known as the Unicorn sheep, is still more remarkable, for the two horns are welded together so as to form a single horn curving back over the head, and growing so long that the tips often have to be cut off to prevent the neck being pierced. Finally, we have the four-horned sheep wherein a pair of horns grows upwards and a pair downwards on each side of the neck.

      The horns of

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