undergo in the West Indies see also Dr. Davy in 'Edin. New. Phil. Journal'
January 1852. For the statement made by Roulin see 'Mem. de l'Institut
present. par divers Savans.' tome 6 1835 page 347.) On the other hand, many
wool-bearing sheep live on the hot plains of India. Roulin asserts that in
the lower and heated valleys of the Cordillera, if the lambs are sheared as
soon as the wool has grown to a certain thickness, all goes on afterwards
as usual; but if not sheared, the wool detaches itself in flakes, and short
shining hair like that on a goat is produced ever afterwards. This curious
result seems merely to be an exaggerated tendency natural to the Merino
breed, for as a great authority, namely, Lord Somerville, remarks, "the
wool of our Merino sheep after shear-time is hard and coarse to such a
degree as to render it almost impossible to suppose that the same animal
could bear wool so opposite in quality, compared to that which has been
clipped from it: as the cold weather advances, the fleeces recover their
soft quality." As in sheep of all breeds the fleece naturally consists of
longer and coarser hair covering shorter and softer wool, the change which
it often undergoes in hot climates is probably merely a case of unequal
development; for even with those sheep which like goats are covered with
hair, a small quantity of underlying wool may always be found. (3/93.
'Youatt on Sheep' page 69 where Lord Somerville is quoted. See page 117 on
the presence of wool under the hair. With respect to the fleeces of
Australian sheep page 185. On selection counteracting any tendency to
change see pages 70, 117, 120, 168.) In the wild mountain-sheep (0vis
montana) of North America there is an analogous annual change of coat; "the
wool begins to drop out in early spring, leaving in its place a coat of
hair resembling that of the elk, a change of pelage quite different in
character from the ordinary thickening of the coat or hair, common to all
furred animals in winter,--for instance, in the horse, the cow, etc., which
shed their winter coat in the spring." (3/94. Audubon and Bachman 'The
Quadrupeds of North America' 1846 volume 5 page 365.)