Chaps. 66-72.

Chap. 66.—The Generation of the Horse.

The female of this animal carries her young for eleven months, and brings forth in the twelfth. The connection takes place at the vernal equinox, and generally in both sexes, at the age of two years; but the colt is much stronger when the parents are three years old. The males are capable of covering up to the thirty-third year, and it is not till after the twentieth that they are taken for this purpose from the Circus. At Opus, [See B. iv. c. 12.] it is said, a horse served as a stallion until his fortieth year; though he required some assistance in raising the fore part of the body. There are few animals, however, in which the generative powers are so limited, for which reason it is only admitted to the female at certain intervals; [Varro, ubi supra, gives considerably different directions on this point; he says, “Intercourse is to be allowed, at the proper season of the year, twice a day, morning and evening.”] indeed it cannot cover as many as fifteen times in the course of one year. [This sentence in Columella, ubi supra, seems to illustrate the meaning, which is somewhat obscure. “Veruntamen nec minus quam quindecim, nec plures quam viginti, unus debet implere”—“One male ought to be coupled with not more than twenty females, nor less than fifteen.”] The sexual passion of the mare is extinguished by cropping her mane; she is capable of bearing every year up to the fortieth. We have an account of a horse having lived to its seventy-fifth year. The mare brings forth standing upright, and is attached, beyond all other animals, to her offspring. The horse is born with a poisonous substance on its forehead, known as hippomanes, [Cuvier states, that the hippomanes is a concretion occasionally found in the liquor amnii of the mare, and which it devours, from the same kind of instinctive feeling which causes quadrupeds generally to devour the afterbirth. He remarks, however, that this can have no connection with the attachment which the mother bears to her offspring; Ajasson, vol. vi. p. 459; Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 495. The hippomanes is said to have been employed by the sorceresses of antiquity, as an ingredient in their amatory potions. See Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 24, and Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. xiv. c. 18.—B. See also B. xxviii. c. 11.] and used in love philtres; it is the size of a fig, and of a black colour; the mother devours it immediately on the birth of the foal, and until she has done so, she will not suckle it. When this substance can be rescued from the mother, it has the property of rendering the animal quite frantic by the smell. If a foal has lost its mother, the other mares in the herd that have young, will take charge of the orphan. It is said that the young of this animal cannot touch the earth with the mouth for the first three days after its birth. The more spirited a horse is, the deeper does it plunge its nose into the water while drinking. The Scythians prefer mares for the purposes of war, because they can pass their urine without stopping in their career.

Chap. 67.—Mares Impregnated by the Wind.

It is well known that in Lusitania, in the vicinity of the town of Olisipo [Now Lisbon. See B. iv. c. 35.] and the river Tagus, the mares, by turning their faces towards the west wind as it blows, become impregnated by its breezes, [The accounts given, by Phœnician navigators, of the fertility of Lusitania, and the frequency of the mild western breezes, gave rise to the fable here mentioned, which has been generally received by the ancients; and that not merely by the poets, as Virgil, Geor. B. iii. l. 274, 275, but by practical writers, as Varro, B. ii. c. 1, and Columella, B. vi. c. 27. Justin, however, B. xliv. c. 3, attributes the opinion to the great size of the horses, and their remarkable fleetness, from which they were said to be the sons of the wind.—B.] and that the foals which are conceived in this way are remarkable for their extreme fleetness; but they never live beyond three years. Gallicia and Asturia are also countries of Spain; they produce a species of horse known to us as thieldones, [The origin and meaning of this name is not known.—B.] and when smaller, asturcones; [Martial describes the peculiar short, quick step of the “asturco,” in one of his Epigrams, B. xiv. Ep. 199.—B.] they have a peculiar and not common pace of their own, which is very easy, and arises from the two legs of the same side being moved together; [“Alterno crurum explicatu glomeratio;” it would not be possible to give a literal translation, but we may judge of the meaning by the context.—B. He clearly alludes to a movement like our canter.] it is by studying the nature of this step that our horses have been taught the movement which we call ambling. [“Tolutim carpere incursus;” Hardouin explains this by a reference to Plautus, Asinaria, A. iii. sc. 3, l. 116. “Tolutim ni badizas”—“If you do not amble, lifting up your feet.”] Horses have very nearly the same diseases as men; [Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 24, gives an account of the diseases of horses.—B.] besides which, they are subject to an irregular action of the bladder, as, indeed, is the case with all beasts of burden. [“Genere veterino;” so called, according to Hardouin, from “vectura,” “carriage,” as applicable to horses, asses, and mules; Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 497.—B.]

Chap. 68. (45.)—The Ass, Its Generation.

M. Varro informs us that Quintus Axius, the senator, paid for an ass the sum of four hundred thousand sesterces; [There is considerable difficulty in ascertaining the exact amount of sums of money mentioned by the ancients. “We read in Varro, B. ii. c. 1, and B. ii. c. 8, of enormous prices said to have been given for asses, and the particular case of Axius is mentioned, B. iii. c. 2; according to the usual estimate, the sum here mentioned amounts to upwards of £3200 sterling.—B.] I am not sure whether this did not exceed the price ever given for any other animal. It is certainly a species of animal singularly useful for labour and ploughing, [See B. xvii. c. 5.] but more especially for the production of mules. [Varro, B. i. c. 20, and B. iii. c. 16, and Columella, B. vii. c. 1, enlarge upon the valuable qualities of the ass for agricultural purposes; Columella, B. vi. c. 37, treats at length upon the production of mules.—B.] In these animals also, the country in which they are born is taken into consideration; in Greece, those from Arcadia [See a passage in Plautus, in which the superior excellence of the asses of Arcadia is referred to; Asinaria, A. ii. sc. 2, l. 67.—B.] are the most valued; and in Italy, those of Reate. [See B. iii. c. 17.] The ass is an animal which is unable to endure cold, [This property is mentioned by Herodotus, B. iv. c. 28, and by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 27, also De Gener. Anim. B. ii. c. 8, and by Strabo, B. vii. The ass is a native of Arabia, and degenerates when brought into a cold climate.—B.] for which reason it is that it is never produced in Pontus; nor is it allowed to cover at the vernal equinox, like other cattle, but at the summer solstice. The males are less proper for covering, when out of work. The earliest age at which the females are ever capable of bearing is the thirtieth month, but the usual time begins at the age of three years. The number to which it gives birth is the same as the mare, which it also resembles, in the length of its gestation, and in its mode of bringing forth; but the female will discharge the generative fluid from the womb, being unable to retain it, unless by blows she is forced to run immediately after being covered. They seldom bring forth two at one birth. [These circumstances appear to have been taken from Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. v. c. 14, and B. vi. c. 23.—B.] When the she-ass is about to bring forth, she shuns the light and seeks darkness, in order to escape the observation of man. Asses are capable of breeding throughout the whole of their life, which extends to thirty years. Their attachment to their young is great in the extreme, but their aversion to water is still greater. They will pass through fire to get at their foals, while the very same animal, if the smallest stream intervenes, will tremble, and not dare so much as to wet even its feet. Nor yet in their pastures will they ever drink at any but the usual watering-place, and they make it their care to find some dry path by which to get at it. They will not pass over a bridge either, when the water can be seen between the planks beneath. [“Per raritatem eorum translucentibus fluviis.”—B.] Wonderful to relate, too, if their watering-places are changed, though they should be ever so thirsty, they will not drink without being either beaten or caressed. They ought always to have plenty of room for sleeping; for they are very subject to various diseases in their sleep, when they repeatedly throw out their feet, and would immediately lame themselves by coming in contact with any hard substance; so that it is necessary that they should be provided with an empty space. The profit which is derived from these animals exceeds that arising from the richest estate. It is a well-known fact, that in Celtiberia there are some she-asses which have produced to their owners as much as four hundred thousand sesterces. [Upwards of £3200 sterling.—B.] In the rearing of she-mules it is said to be particularly necessary to attend to the colour of the hair of the ears and the eyelids, for, although the rest of the body be all of one colour, the mule that is produced will have all the colours that are found in those parts. Mæcenas was the first person who had the young of the ass served up at his table; [An epigram of Martial, B. xiii. Ep. 97, appears to refer to the employment of the young ass as an article of food.—B. The famous sausages of Bologna are made, it is said, of asses’ flesh.] they were in those times much preferred to the onager or wild ass; [The onager, according to Cuvier, is the same with the ass, in the wild state; it still exists in large herds in various parts of Southern Asia, and is called by the Tartars, Kulan.—B.] but, since his time, the taste has gone out of fashion. An ass, after witnessing the death of another ass, survives it but a very short time only.

Chap. 69. (44.)—The Nature of Mules, and of Other Beasts of Burden.

From the union of the male ass and the mare a mule is produced in the thirteenth month, an animal remarkable for its strength in laborious work. We are told that, for this purpose, the mare ought not to be less than four years old, nor more than ten. It is said also that these two species will repulse each other, unless the male has been brought up, in its infancy, upon the milk of the other species; for which reason they take the foals away from the mare, in the dark, and substitute for them the male colts of the ass. A mule may also be produced from a horse and a female ass; but it can never be properly broken in, and is incorrigibly sluggish, [It is expressly stated by Columella, ubi supra, that the mules “produced from a horse and a female ass, are in all respects most like the mother.”] being in all respects as slow as an old animal. If a mare has conceived by a horse, and is afterwards covered by an ass, the first conception is abortive; but this is not the case when the horse comes after the ass. It has been observed, that the female is in the best state for receiving the male in the seventh day after parturition, and that the males are best adapted for the purpose when they are fatigued. [This is explained by Columella, ubi supra, who remarks, that when a stallion is admitted to a female in the full heat of its passion, it often causes mischief; which is not the case when its ardour has been a little subdued by having been worked for some time.—B.] A female ass, which has not conceived before shedding what are called the milk-teeth, is considered to be barren; which is also looked upon as the case when a she-ass does not become pregnant after the first covering. The male which is produced from a horse and a female ass, was called by the ancients “hinnulus,” and that from an ass and a mare “mulus.” [Varro, ubi supra, says: “The produce of a mare and a male ass is a mule, of a horse and a female ass a hinnus.”] It has been observed that the animal which is thus produced by the union of the two species is of a third species, and does not resemble either of the parents; and that all animals produced in this way, of whatever kind they may be, are incapable of reproduction; she-mules are therefore barren. It is said, indeed, in our Annals, that they have frequently brought forth; [Varro, B. ii. c. 1, alludes to this occurrence; Livy mentions two instances, B. xxvi. c. 23, and B. xxxvii. c. 3; these prodigies were said both to have occurred at Reate.—B.] but such cases must be looked upon only as prodigies. [Herodotus relates two cases, which were regarded as presaging some extraordinary event, B. iii. c. 153, and B. vii. c. 57. Juvenal, Sat. xiii. l. 66, and Suetonius, Life of Galba, c. 4, speak of a pregnant mule as a most extraordinary circumstance; it seems to have given rise to a proverbial expression among the Romans.—B.] Theophrastus says that they commonly bring forth in Cappadocia; but that the animal of that country is of a peculiar species. [Cuvier remarks, that there is, in the deserts of Asia, a peculiar animal, with undivided hoofs, the Equus hemionus of naturalists, and the Dgiggetai of the Tartars, which bears a resemblance to our mules, but is not the produce of the horse and the ass; he refers us to Professor Pallas’s account of it in Acad. Petrop. Nov. Com. vol. xix. p. 394; Ajasson, vol. vi. p. 461; Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 505.—B.] The mule is prevented from kicking by frequently giving it wine to drink. [Pliny repeats this advice in B. xxx. c. 53; it is, of course, entirely without foundation.—B.] It is said in the works of many of the Greek writers, that from the union of a mule with a mare, the dwarf mule is produced, which they call “ginnus.” From the union of the mare and the wild ass, when it has been domesticated, a mule is produced which is remarkably swift in running, and has extremely hard feet, and a thin body, while it has a spirit that is quite indomitable. The very best stallion of all, however, for this purpose, is one produced from a union of the wild ass and the female domesticated ass. The best wild asses are those of Phrygia and Lycaonia. Africa glories in the wild foals which she produces, as excelling all others in flavour; these are called “lalisiones.” [The epigram of Martial previously referred to bears this title.—B. See N., p. 324.] It appears from some Athenian records, that a mule once lived to the age of eighty years. The people were greatly delighted with this animal, because on one occasion, when, on the building of a temple in the citadel, [This temple was the Parthenon. This anecdote is mentioned by Arist. Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 24; Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. vi. c. 49.—B.] it had been left behind on account of its age, it persisted in promoting the work by accompanying and assisting them; in consequence of which a decree was passed, that the dealers in corn were not to drive it away from their sieves. [In which they probably exposed their samples for sale, as our farmers do in small bags. The phrase is ἀπὸ τῶν τηλιῶν, in Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 24, from whom Pliny takes the story.]

Chap. 70. (45.)—Oxen; Their Generation.

We find it stated, that the oxen of India are of the height of camels, and that the extremity of their horns are four feet asunder. In our part of the world the most valuable oxen are those of Epirus, owing, it is said, to the attention paid to their breed by King Pyrrhus. [This alleged superiority is mentioned by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. iii. c. 91, by Varro, B. ii. c. 5, and by Columella, B. vi. c. 1; but it is remarked by Dalechamps and Hardouin, that the appellation of Pyrrhic given to these oxen, was more probably derived from their red colour, πυῤῥὸς, than from the name of the king. The materials of this chapter are principally from the above writers, especially Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 21, and B. viii. c. 7.—B.] This perfection was acquired by not permitting them to breed until after their fourth year. By these means he brought them to a very large size, and descendants of this breed are still to be seen at the present day. But in our times, we set heifers to breed in their first year, or, at the latest, in their second. Bulls are fit for breeding in their fourth year; one being sufficient, it is said, for ten cows during the whole year. If the bull, after covering, goes to the right side, the produce will be a male; if to the left, a female. [This singular notion is mentioned by Varro and Columella, ubi supra; Cuvier says, that it is the origin of the pretended secret of producing the sexes at pleasure, which was published by Millot; Ajasson, vol. vi. p. 461.—B.] Conception takes place after a single union; but if, by any accident, it should not have taken place, the cow seeks the male again, at the end of twenty days. She brings forth in the tenth month; whatever may be produced before that time cannot be reared. Some writers say, that the birth takes place the very day on which the tenth month is completed. This animal but rarely produces twins. The time of covering begins at the rising of the Dolphin, the day before the nones of January, [th January. See B. xviii. c. 64.] and continues for the space of thirty days. Sometimes it takes place in the autumn; and among those nations which live upon milk, they manage so as to have a supply of it at all times of the year. Bulls never cover more than twice in the same day. The ox is the only animal that walks backwards while it is feeding; among the Garamantes, they feed in no other manner. [This is mentioned by Herodotus, B. iv. c. 183; this peculiarity in their mode of taking their food is ascribed to the extraordinary length of the horns; it is also mentioned by Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. xvi. c. 33.—B.] The females live fifteen years at the longest, and the males twenty; they arrive at their full vigour in their fifth year. It is said that they are made fat by being washed in warm water, or by having the entrails inflated with air by means of a reed, introduced through an incision in the skin. We must not look upon those kinds as having degenerated, the appearance of which is not so favourable. Those that are bred in the Alps, although very small of body, give a great quantity of milk, and are capable of enduring much labour; they are yoked by the horns, and not by the neck. The oxen of Syria have no dewlap, but they have a hump on the back. Those of Caria also, which is in Asia, are unsightly [“Fœdi visu.” This is very similar to the expression used by Virgil, Georg. B. iii., when describing the points of an ox, l. 52,—“oui turpi caput”—“the head of which is unsightly”— probably in allusion to its large size.] in appearance, having a hump hanging over the shoulders from the neck; and their horns are moveable; [According to Cuvier, there is an ox, in warm climates, which has a mass of fat on the shoulders, and whose horns are only attached to the skin; Buffon has described it under the name of Zebu; Ajasson, vol. vi. p. 461; Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 512.—B.] they are said, however, to be excellent workers, though those which are either black or white are condemned as worthless for labour. [“Ad laborer damnantur;” with respect to the colour, Varro, B. ii. c. 5, has the following remarks: “The best colours are black, red, pale red, and white. The latter ones are the most delicate, the first the most hardy. Of the two middle ones, the first is the best, and both are more valuable than the first and last.”] The horns of the bull are shorter and thinner than those of the ox. Oxen must be broken in when they are three years old; after that time it is too late, and before that time too early. The ox is most easily broken in by yoking it with one that has already been trained. [We have an account of this process in Columella, B. ii. c. 6.—B.] This animal is our especial companion, both in labour generally, and in the operations of agriculture. Our ancestors considered it of so much value, that there is an instance cited of a man being brought before the Roman people, on a day appointed, and condemned, for having killed an ox, in order to humour an impudent concubine of his, who said that she had never tasted tripe; and he was driven into exile, just as though he had killed one of his own peasants. [This anecdote is related by Valerius Maximus, B. viii. c. 1. Virgil, Georg. B. ii. l. 537, speaks of the use of oxen in food, as a proof of the degeneracy of later times, and as not existing during the Golden Age; “Ante Impia quad cœsis gens est epulata juvencis.” This feeling is alluded to by Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. xii. c. 34, and by Suetonius, Life of Domitian, c. ix.—B.]

The bull has a proud air, a stern forehead, shaggy ears, and horns which appear always ready, and challenging to the combat; but it is by his fore feet that he manifests his threatening anger. As his rage increases, he stands, lashing back his tail [It is doubtful whether this is the meaning of “alternos replicans orbes,” or what indeed is the meaning. Most editions omit “orbes,” thus making the matter still worse.] every now and then, and throwing up the sand against his belly; being the only animal that excites himself by these means. We have seen them fight at the word of command, and shown as a public spectacle; these bulls whirled about and then fell upon their horns, and at once were up again; then, at other times, they would lie upon the ground and let themselves be lifted up; they would even stand in a two-horsed chariot, while moving at a rapid rate, like so many charioteers. [Hardouin supposes that this alludes to the exhibition of oxen hunted at the exhibition of shows and in the Circus, for the gratification of the Roman people.—B.] The people of Thessaly invented a method of killing bulls, by means of a man on horseback, who would ride up to them, and seize one of the horns, and so twist their neck. Cæsar the Dictator was the first person who exhibited this spectacle at Rome.

Bulls are selected as the very choicest of victims, and are offered up as the most approved sacrifice for appeasing the gods. [Referred to by Virgil, Georg. B. ii. ll. 145, 146, “et maxima taurus Victima,” “and the bull the largest victim of all.”—B.] Of all the animals that have long tails, this is the only one whose tail is not of proportionate length at the moment of birth; and in this animal alone it continues to grow until it reaches its heels. It is on this account, that in making choice of a calf for a victim, due care is taken that its tail reaches to the pastern joint; if it is shorter than this, the sacrifice is not deemed acceptable to the gods. This fact has also been remarked, that calves, which have been carried to the altar on men’s shoulders, are not generally acceptable to the gods; and also, if they are lame, or of a species which is not appropriate, [In reference to this remark, we may mention the passage in Virgil, Æn. B. iii. c. 119, “Taurum Neptuno, taurum tibi, pulcher Apollo.” “A bull to thee, Neptune, a bull to thee, beauteous Apollo.”] or if they struggle to get away from the altar. It was a not uncommon prodigy among the ancients, for an ox to speak; [Instances are mentioned by Livy, B. xxxv. c. 21, and by Val. Maximus, B. i. c. 65.—B.] upon such a fact being announced to the senate, they were in the habit of holding a meeting in the open air.

Chap. 71. (46.)—The Egyptian Apis.

In Egypt an ox is even worshipped as a deity; they call it Apis. It is distinguished by a conspicuous white spot on the right side, in the form of a crescent. There is a knot also under the tongue, which is called “cantharus.” [“Quem cantharum appellant.” According to Dalechamps, “So called from the blackness of the colour, and its resemblance to a beetle.” Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 516. He refers the reader to a further account in B. xxx. c. 30.—B.] This ox is not allowed to live beyond a certain number of years; it is then destroyed by being drowned in the fountain of the priests. They then go, amid general mourning, and seek another ox to replace it; and the mourning is continued, with their heads shaved, until such time as they have found one; it is not long, however, at any time, before they meet with a successor. When one has been found, it is brought by the priests to Memphis. There are two temples appropriated to it, which are called thalami, [From the Greek θάλαμοι, “bed-chambers.”] and to these the people resort to learn the auguries. According as the ox enters the one or the other of these places, the augury is deemed favourable or unfavourable. It gives answers to individuals, by taking food from the hand of those who consult it. It turned away from the hand of Germanicus Cæsar, and not long after he died. [Tacitus, Ann. B. ii. c. 69, gives an account of the sickness of Germanicus after his return from Egypt, but does not refer to the circumstance here mentioned.—B.] In general it lives in secret; but, when it comes forth in public, the multitudes make way for it, and it is attended by a crowd of boys, singing hymns in honour of it; it appears to be sensible of the adoration thus paid to it, and to court it. These crowds, too, suddenly become inspired, and predict future events. Once in the year a female is presented to the ox, which likewise has her appropriate marks, although different from those on the male; and it is said that she is always killed the very same day that they find her. There is a spot in the Nile, near Memphis, which, from its figure, they call Phiala; [The “goblet.” See B. v. c. 10.] here they throw into the water a dish of gold, and another of silver, every year upon the days on which they celebrate the birth of Apis. [Seneca, Quæst. Nat. B. iv. c. 2, gives an account of this ceremony, but does not refer to the birth of Apis.—B.] These days are seven in number, and it is a remarkable thing, that during this time, no one is ever attacked by the crocodile; on the eighth day, however, after the sixth hour, these beasts resume all their former ferocity.

Chap. 72. (47.)—Sheep, and Their Propagation.

Many thanks, too, do we owe to the sheep, both for appeasing the gods, and for giving us the use of its fleece. As oxen cultivate the fields which yield food for man, so to sheep are we indebted for the defence of our bodies. The generative power lasts in both sexes from the second to the ninth year, sometimes to the tenth. [This account is probably from Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. v. c. 14; B. vi. c. 19; and B. ix. c. 3, where we have various particulars respecting the production and mode of life of the sheep.—B.] The lambs produced at the first birth are but small. The season for coupling, in all of them, is from the setting of Arcturus, that is to say, the third day before the ides of May, [th May.] to the setting of Aquila, the tenth day before the calends of August. [rd July.] The period of gestation is one hundred and fifty days. The lambs that are produced after this time are feeble; the ancients called those that were born after it, cordi. [Varro, ubi supra, gives a somewhat different account: “Those lambs are called ‘cordi,’ which are born after their time, and have remained in the womb, called χορίον, from which they take that name.”—B.] Many persons prefer the lambs that are born in the winter to those of the spring, because it is of much more consequence that they should have gained strength before the summer solstice than before the winter one; consequently, the sheep is the only animal that is benefitted by being born in the middle of winter. It is the nature of the ram to reject the young and prefer the old ones, and he himself is more serviceable when old, [The expression “senecta melior,” here employed, is limited by Columella, ubi supra, to the third year.—B.] and when deprived of his horns. [Columella, B. vii. c. 8, remarks, “When deprived of his horns he knows himself to be disarmed, as it were, and is not so ready to quarrel and is less vehement in his passion.”] He is also rendered less violent by having one horn pierced towards the ear. If the right testicle is tied up, the ram will generate females, and if the left, males. [Columella, B. vii. c. 23, refers to this practice; he informs us, B. vi, c. 28, that it is practised with respect to the horse. It is also referred to by Aristotle, De Gen. Anim. B. iv. c. 1.—B.] The noise of thunder produces abortion in sheep, if they are left alone; to prevent such accidents, they are brought together into flocks, that they may be rendered less timid by being in company. When the north-east wind blows, males are said to be conceived; and when the south wind, females. In this kind of animal, the mouth of the ram is especially looked to, for whatever may be the colour of the veins under the tongue, the wool of the young one will be of a similar colour. [For this we have the authority of Aristotle, ubi supra, and of Columella, ubi supra, who quotes from Virgil in support of it, Geor. B. iii. l. 387, et seq. —B. “Although the ram be white himself, if there is a black tongue beneath the palate, reject him, that he may not tinge the fleece of the young with black spots.”] If these veins are many in number, it will be mottled. Any change, too, in their water or drink, will render them mottled. [Varro, B. ii. c. 2, remarks, “While the coupling is taking place, you must use the same water; for if it is changed, it will render the wool spotted, and injure the womb.”]

There are two principal kinds of sheep, the covered [“Tectæ.” The context shows that this means covered with skins or a woollen girth, probably on account of their delicate nature, while the common sheep of husbandry, or the “colonic” sheep, were able to endure the rigour of the weather without any such protection.] and the colonic, [The words are tectum and colonicum; Columella, B. vii. c. 4, uses the terms molle and hirsutum, and Varro, B. ii. c. 2, pellitum and hirtum. The first obtained its name from its being covered with skins, to protect its delicate fleece. The colonic is so called, from “colonus,” a “husbandman,” this kind being so common as to be found in any village; whereas the tectæ were rare.] or common sheep; the former is the more tender animal, but the latter is more nice about its pastures, for the covered sheep will feed on brambles even. The best coverings for sheep are brought from Arabia. [We have some account of the Arabian sheep in Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. x. c. 4.—B. Columella says, that the wool which was brought over to make these coverings, was only to be obtained at a very great price.]