Some Account of a Sheep, Shewed Alive to the Royal Society, in November 1754, Having a Monstrous Horn Growing from His Throat; The Stuffed Skin of Which, with the Horn in Situ, is Now in the Museum of the Society. By James Parsons M. D. and F. R. S.

XXIX. Some Account of a Sheep, shewed alive to the Royal Society, in November 1754, having a monstrous Horn growing from his Throat; the stuffed Skin of which, with the Horn in situ, is now in the Museum of the Society. By James Parsons, M.D. and F.R.S. Read May 1, 1755. THIS animal was bred in Devonshire, with the preternatural horn appearing at its birth in much the same proportion as at present. The novelty of the thing made the farmer spare the life of the lamb, and bring it up till it grew to the size of a well-grown sheep, pretty large of its kind, and about three or four years old. When it was brought before the Society, I remember the owner said, the horn weighed then twenty-six pounds; and the creature swung it about, and raised it up with amazing strength. When he was fed, he moved forwards, letting the horn drag between his fore-legs, whereby he was enabled to lay his nose to the ground; for the skin, by which it hung, is flexible, and though reduced to a neck, with respect to the circumference of the horn, yet it was hollow as well as flexible, leaving an open passage from the flesh of the neck to the cavity of the horn, and its contents. Sometimes the horn would come into such positions, as to twist the skin, which gave the sheep great uneasiness; but, from necessity, he knew how to relieve himself, and from custom custom became ready at that, as well as bringing it between his legs to favour his feeding. That he was a well-grown sheep, appears from the following dimensions: He was four feet six inches in length, from the nose to the setting on of the tail; which tail was but six inches long; and the size and weight of the horn was so great in proportion to the animal, that nothing but his having been accustomed to move, and carry it about from his birth, can account for the great power he shewed in his manner of commanding it in every attitude. Nature is ever busy in supporting herself: when a preternatural weight was to be carried about, the muscles of the neck had acquired a more than natural strength and robustness to answer it; for it was very remarkable, that this creature elevated his head upon any occasion, with as much seeming ease, as if no weight had been suspended to his neck; although, joined to so great a weight as twenty-six pounds avoirdupoize, the enormous size of the horn must make it very unwieldy and cumbersome, being in length along the convex or anterior surface two feet seven inches; and on the concave side two feet one inch; its greatest circumference two feet two inches, middle circumference one foot six inches; and near the apex one foot; and its weight is now fifteen pounds, though emptied of its contents. It is said, that the sheep in Devonshire have their natural horns of the shape of this preternatural one; whereas they are curled in those of other counties. Now this animal had in the natural places no horns, but only two horny stumps, projecting no more than half half a walnut-shell laid upon a flat surface, with the convex side upwards; for the horny particles, which, according to nature, ought to have had their secretion to produce horns in the usual places, were determined to this monstrous one perpetually, in the manner, which I have already attempted to explain, in the chapter of the analogy between the fluids of animals and vegetables, of my late treatise, intituled, *Philosophical observations upon the analogy between the propagation of animals and vegetables,* &c. It is said by the person, who brought the stuffed skin of this sheep to the Society last Thursday, that upon opening him there was found, in the top of the horn next the throat, which is hollow half-way down, a skull of a contracted round form, with blood-vessels running upon it, and a bag filled with grumous blood, among which was a substance like a sheep's liver and lungs; and a perfect sound kidney, like that of a fresh loin of mutton. And this is attested by the names of three house-keepers of credit, who were present when the animal was opened, and who, if required, are ready to make oath of it. If this be true, the case of this sheep is of the same nature with those of the cow, which was shewed in the museum, to the whole Society, in November 1748, having the parts of a twin-sister adhering to the spine, and prominent upon her back: and also of an ox, which was shewn in town about that time, having the head of a twin-calf hanging from between the sides of the under jaw, by a narrow skin. As to the manner, in which such monstrous productions are formed, in order to avoid an unnecessary repetition, I refer to my account of two female children, children, joined together by the bellies, in No 489. page 527. of the Philosophical Transactions, where, in my remarks upon them, I have attempted explaining the phenomena of all these preternatural appearances in animal bodies, as well as in those of vegetables. XXX. A Dissertation upon the Cancer of the Eye-lids, Nose, great Angle of the Eye, and its neighbouring Parts, commonly called the Noli-me-tangere, deemed hitherto incurable by both Antients and Moderns, but now shewn to be as curable as other Distempers. Addressed to the Royal Society of London by Mons. Daviel, consulting Surgeon in ordinary, and Oculist to the King; Master of Arts, and of Surgery at Marseilles; Royal Professor and Demonstrator of Anatomy of the same City; Member of the Academy of Sciences of Toulosoe, Bologne, and that of Surgery of Paris; and translated from the French by James Parsons, M.D. and F.R.S. Paris, April 20, 1754. Of all the diseases which seize the eye-lids, nose, angle of the eye, and its neighbouring parts, none appears so formidable as