ples him to death with his feet and knees, tearing him with his horns and teeth, and licking him with his rough tongue, till the skin is nearly stripped from the body.— The following accurate defcription we owe to the fame author:-The length of the Buffalo, from head to tail, is eight feet; the height five and a half; and the fore legs two feet and a half long: From the tip of the muzzle to the horns, twenty-two inches: His limbs, in proportion to his fize, are much ftouter than thofe of the Ox; his fetlocks likewife hang nearer the ground: The horns are fingular, both in their form and pofition; the bafes of them are thirteen inches broad, and only an inch diftant. from each other, having a narrow channel or furrow between them; from this furrow, the horns affume a spherical form, extending over a great part of the head; the distance between the points is often above five feet: The ears are a foot long, fomewhat pendulous, and in a great measure covered and defended by the lower edges of the horns, which bend down on each fide, forming a curve upwards with the points: Their hair is of a dark-brown colour, about an inch long, harfh, and, upon those males that are advanced in years, ftraggling and thin, especially on each fide of the belly, which gives them the appearance of being girt with a belt: They frequently roll themselves in the mire, of which they are very fond: The tail is fhort, and tufted at the end: The eyes are large, and fomewhat funk within their prominent orbits, which are almoft covered with the bafes of the horns overhanging its dangling ears; this, with a peculiar inclination of the head to one fide, which is its ufual manner, produces an afpect at once fierce, cunning, and tremendous: The flesh is coarse, rather lean, but full of juice of a high, but not unpleafant flavour: The hide is thick and tough, and of great use in making thongs and harnefs; it is fo hard, as not to be penetrated by a common musket-ball; thofe made ufe of for fhooting the Buffalo, are mixed with tin; and even these are frequently flattened by the concuffion. In Italy, the Buffalo is domefticated, and conftitutes the riches and food of the poor, who employ them for the purposes of agriculture, and make butter and cheese from their milk. The female produces but one at a time, and continues pregnant twelve months;-another ftriking characteristic difference between the Buffalo and the common Cow. inhabits the interior parts of North-America, on the weft fide of Hudfon's Bay, between Churchill and Seal rivers. They are very numerous in those parts, and live in herds of twenty or thirty. The Indians eat their flesh, and make coverings of their fkins. They are brought down in fledges, to fupply the forts during the winter. Notwithstanding the flesh is said to have a ftrong flavour of mufk, it is reckoned very good and wholefome. The Musk-Bull is fomewhat lower than a Deer, but more bulky. Its legs are fhort; and it has a small hump on its shoulder: Its hair is of a dufty red colour, very fine, and fo long, as to reach to the ground: Beneath the hair, its body is covered with wool of an ash colour, which is exquifitely fine, and might be converted into various articles of useful manufacture;-Mr Jeremie fays, that ftockings made of it are finer than filk: Its tail is only three inches long, and is covered with long hairs, of which the Efquimaux Indians make caps; which are so contrived, that the long hair, falling round their faces, defends them from the bites of the musqui- ́ toes. Its horns are close at the bafe, and bend downwards, turning out at the points; they are two feet long, and two feet round at the base; fome of them will weigh fixty pounds. These animals delight chiefly in rocky and mountainous countries. They run nimbly, and are very active in climbing steep ascents. THE SHE E P. HE Sheep, in its prefent domeftic ftate, feems fo TH far removed from a state of nature, that it may be deemed a difficult matter to point out its origin. Climate, food, and above all, the unwearied arts of cultivation, contribute to render this animal, in a peculiar manner, the creature of man; to whom it is obliged to truft entirely for its protection, and to whofe neceffities it largely contributes. Though fingularly inoffenfive, and harmless even to a proverb, it does not appear to be that ftupid, inanimate creature, described by Buffon, « devoid of every neceffary art of felf-prefervation, without courage, and even deprived of every instinctive faculty, we are led to conclude, that the Sheep, of all other animals, is the most contemptible and stupid:" But amidst those numerous flocks that range without controul on extenfive mountains, where they feldom depend upon the aid of the fhepherd, it will be found to affume a very diffe rent character: In these fituations, a Ram or a Wedder will boldly attack a single Dog, and often come off victorious; but when the danger is more alarming, they have recourse to the collected ftrength of the whole flock. On fuch occafions, they draw up into a compact body, placing the young and the females in the center; while the males take the foremost ranks, keeping close by each other. Thus an armed front is prefented to all quarters, and cannot easily be attacked without danger of deftruction to the affailant. In this manner, they wait with firmness the approach of the enemy; nor does their courage fail them in the moment of attack: For, when the aggreffor advances within a few yards of the line, the Rams dart upon him with fuch impetuofity, as lays him. dead at their feet, unless he fave himself by flight. Against the attacks of fingle Dogs or Foxes, when in this fituation, they are perfectly secure.-A Ram, regardless of danger, will fometimes engage a Bull; and his forehead being much harder than that of any other animal, he feldom fails to conquer: For the Bull, by lowering his head, receives the ftroke of the Ram between his eyes, which ufually brings him to the ground. In the felection of their food, few animals discover greater fagacity than the Sheep; nor does any domeftic. animal fhew more dexterity and cunning in its attempts to elude the vigilance of the fhepherd, in order to steal fuch delicacies as are agreeable to its palate. Befides its hardinefs in enduring great feverities of weather, the natural instinct of the Sheep, in foreseeing the approach of a ftorm, is no lefs remarkable: In their endeavours to fecure themfelves under the fhelter of fome hill, whole flocks have frequently been buried for many days under a covering of fnow, and have after wards been taken out without any material injury. Thus beautifully defcribed by Thomfon: "Oft the whirlwind's wing "Sweeps up the burthen of whole wintry plains There have been inftances, where Sheep, at the approach of a storm, have fled for shelter to a neighbouring cottage, and taken refuge under the fame roof with their fhepherd. The variety in this creature is fo great, that scarcely any two countries produce Sheep of the fame kind: There is found a manifeft difference in all, either in the fize, the covering, the fhape, or the horns. The woolly Sheep is found only in Europe, and in the temperate provinces of Afia. When tranfported into warmer climates, it lofes its wool, and becomes hairy and rough: It is likewife lefs fertile, and its flesh no longer retains the fame flavour. No country produces finer Sheep than Great-Britain: Their fleeces are large, and well adapted to the various purposes of cloathing. The Spanish fleeces are indeed finer, but ftand in no degree of comparison with those of Lincolnshire or Warwickshire for weight or utility.-In Edward the Third's time, when wool was allowed to be exported, it brought 150,000l. per annum, at 21. 10s. a pack, which was a great fum in thofe days. At this time, when our woollen manufactory ftands unrivalled by any nation in the world, and every method is taken to prevent this valuable commodity from being fent out of the kingdom, the annual value of wool, fhorn in Eng |