Sheep are fattened by twigs of the
olive or of the oleaster, by vetch, and bran of every kind; and
these articles of food fatten all the more if they be first
sprinkled with brine. Sheep will take on flesh all the better if
they be first put for three days through a process of starving. In
autumn, water from the north is more wholesome for sheep than water
from the south. Pasture grounds are all the better if they have a
westerly aspect.
Sheep will lose flesh if they be kept overmuch on the move or be
subjected to any hardship. In winter time shepherds can easily
distinguish the vigorous sheep from the weakly, from the fact that the
vigorous sheep are covered with hoar-frost while the weakly ones are
quite free of it; the fact being that the weakly ones feeling
oppressed with the burden shake themselves and so get rid of it. The
flesh of all quadrupeds deteriorates in marshy pastures, and is the
better on high grounds. Sheep that have flat tails can stand the
winter better than long-tailed sheep, and short-fleeced sheep than the
shaggy-fleeced; and sheep with crisp wool stand the rigour of winter
very poorly. Sheep are healthier than goats, but goats are stronger
than sheep.
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