OUP
170
o u s
Rued, it does not run straight forward, hut doubles and turns likea hare, at the same time that it scrambles up and over the rockswith wonderful agility. In the same proportion that the adultstrgali is. wild and untamenble, the lamb is easily tamed when takenyoung, and fed first on milk, and afterwards on fodder, like thedomestic sheep, as has been found on numerous experiments madein the Russian settlements In these parts. This animal formerlyfrequented the regions about the upper Irtish , and some otherparts of Siberia , where it is no longer seen since colonies havebeen settled in these countries. It is common in (lie Mongalian,Songarian, and Tartarian mountains, where it enjoys its favouritesolitude or liberty. See Plate C.
O. Abies , the Common Siif.f.p, has the horns spirally twistedoutwards. The disposition of the sheep is so mild and gentle, thatalthough in its wild stale it fears not to defend itself against themost formidable antagonists; yet, when domestic, it is the mosttimid and apparently defenceless of all animals, it is of the mostextern-five utility to man. We are clothed bv its fleece. Theflesh is a delicate and wholesome food. The skin, dressed, formsdifferent parts of our apparel, and is used for covers of books.The entrails, properly prepaied and twisted, serve for strings forvarious musical-instruments. The bones calcined form materialsfor tests for the refiner. The milk is thicker than that of cows,
and consequently yields a greater quantity of butter and cheese ;and in some places is so rich, that it will not produce the cheesewithout a mixture of water to make it part from the whev. Thedung is remarkably rich manure; insomuch that the folding ofsheep is become too useful a branch Of husbandry for the farmerto neglect. In short, this animal lias nothing that docs not re-dound to our benefit. The ram is capable of generating at theage of eighteen months; and the ewe can be impregnatedwdien a year old. One ram is sufficient, according to Bulfon, fortwenty-live or thirty ewes, lie ought to be large and well pro-portioned : his head should be thick and strong, his front wide,liis eyes black, his nose flat, his neck thick, Ids body long andtall, his testicles massy, and his tail long. White is best colourfor a ram. The ewes, whose wool is plentiful, bushy, long, so't,and white, are most proper for breeders, especially when at thesame time they are of a large size, have a thick neck, and movenimbly. Of this most useful species Mr. Kerr enumerates fifteenvarieties. On account of its numerous useful purposes, the sheeplias deservedly become an object of national consideration : it will,therefore, not be uninteresting to give a concise view of the differ-ent breeds at present existing in Britain , and which is selected fromMr. Gulley’s Practical Observations on Live Stock, 8vo. secondedition, Robinson’s, 1795.
Average Years oldweight of when killed.,fleece pel lb.
1 Dishlev......
2 Lincolnshire.
3 Tees-Water.
4 Dartmore Natts.
^ no horns......
...long wool.^
...ditto.
8
11
9
9
6
...fine short wool.
3i
.ditto.
...verv fine short wool.
o
8 South-Down....
...ditto.
O I
2
. ...dilln. .
34-
] I Herdwick.
2
12 Cheviot.
3
13 DunLced.
14
14 Shetland.
_fine cottony.
u
2
3
2
ot- z
3f
H
2
3i
4
41-
U
To these different breeds must be added, 1. The improved Glou- >cester, or the Colswokl sheep, enlarged by the old LeicesterCross; producing the full-sized and well-flavoured mutton : and,S. The Staffordshire Cannock-heath sheep, which resembles thoseof the South Down. Both these breeds are said to be susceptible jof great improvement by crossing, and have been highly recom- :mended to the attention of breeders. Besides the native kinds, or \varieties, of this valuable animal, we cannot omit to mention the!Spanish sheep, which have within a few' years been imported intoBritain, with a view to improve the English breeds. Numerousexperiments were consequently instituted, under the immediatesuperintendance of lord Somerville, and the Board of Agricul-ture, which have been attended with the utmost desirable success.
OU-MONG, a city of China , ot the first rank, in the province«f Se-lcheim. Lon. 103. 30. E. Eat. 27. 20. N.
OUNCE, the sixteenth part of a pound avoirdupois, and thetwelfth part of a pound Troy. ’Pile word is derived from theLatin , itncia, the twelfth part of any whole, called as; parti-cularly in geometrical measures, an inch, is the twelfth part of afoot.
Ounce, in zoology. SeeFeus.
OUNDLE, a town of Northamptonshire , 13 miles S. of Stam-ford, and 83 N. by W. of London . Lon. 0. 42. W. Lat. 52.£6. N.
O', OLO, or OVUM , in architecture, round moulding, whoseprofile or sweep, in the Ionic and Composite capitals, is usually aquadrant of a circle ; whence it is also commonly called the quar-ter-round. It is usually cut with representations of eggs and ar-row-heads or anchors placed alternately.
OU-POLY-TSE, a name given by the Chinese to a kind ofnests made by certain insects upon the leaves and branches of the*><:e called yen-fou-tse. These nests are much used in dyeing,snu the physician's employ them for curing many distempers.
Some of these nests were brought to Europe , and put into thehands of the celebrated Mr. Geoffroy, who found some confor-mity in them to those excrescences which grow on the leaves ofthe elm, ami which the vulgar call elm-bladders : he found thesenests so sharp and astringent to the taste, that he considered themas far superior to every other species of galls used by the dyers.According to him they are the strongest astringents exisling in thevegetable kingdom. It is certain that there is a great affinity be-tween the ou-poey-tse and the elm bladders.
OUREM, a town of Portugal,, in Estremadura . Lon. 7. 40.W. Lat. 39. 34. N.
OURIQUE, a town of Portugal, in Alentejo , 24 miles S. W.of Beja, anil 32 S. E. of Lisbon . Lon. 8. 49. W. Lat. 38. 26. N.
OUROOSTE, a small but populous island of the East Indies,,four miles from Batavia. It is only three-fourths of a mile long,and half a mile broad.
OURRY, or NEW ALDERNEY, an island in the South Pa*-cific Ocean, discovered by Captain Carteret in 1767. It is one ofQueen Charlotte’s Islands ; and is about ten miles long, and fivebroad. Eon. 165. 19.E. Lat. 11. 10. S.
OURTE, a department of Fiance, formed out of the late Aus-trian Netherlands. 'Die capital is Liege .
OUSE, in geography, a river of Sussex, which passes by Lewis,and falls into the channel below Newhaven .
Ouse, a river of Yorkshire , which passes by Aldborough, York,Selby, &c. and after receiving the W half, the Derwent, the Aire,and the Don, from the S. W. joins the Trent on the borders ofLincolnshire; where the united streams form the Humber, 17'miles W. of Hull.
Ouse, a river of Canada, which runs into Lake Erie , in'Lon.79. 30. W. Lat, 42. 50. N.
Ouse, another river of England, which rises near Fitwell in Ox-fordshire, and falls into the sea at Lynn-Regis in Norfolk .
OUSEL,