[Visit to Iceland by Ida Pfeiffer]@TWC D-Link book
Visit to Iceland

CHAPTER III
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At the end of May or the beginning of June the tail and mane are docked and thinned, their woolly coat falls of itself, and they then look smooth enough.

The sheep have also a very thick coat during the winter.

It is not the custom to shear them, but at the beginning of June the wool is picked off piece by piece with the hand.

A sheep treated in this way sometimes presents a very comical appearance, being perfectly naked on one side, while on the other it is still covered with wool.
The horses and cows are considerably smaller than those of our country.
No one need journey so far north, however, to see stunted cattle.
Already, in Galicia, the cows and horses of the peasants are not a whit larger or stronger than those in Iceland.

The Icelandic cows are further remarkable only for their peculiarly small horns; the sheep are also smaller than ours.
Every peasant keeps horses.


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