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[Page 2]
old opinion fully refuted before by our great Ray, that the Fr. Haliotus had one foot palmated, Buffon also in seriously relating that black cattle dropt [dropped] their horns every third year, unaccountably adopted by some of his transcribers & even by Goldsmith, he has indeed recanted it in his supplemental vols. The same great naturalist has also run into a mistake almost equally unworthy of him in asserting some female birds, as those of the ostrich, Bustard & particularly small bustard have testicles. Imagine the error in regard to the last, the Otis tetrax, might arise from the black marks on the neck, distinctive of the male, appearing late, have in my small museum a specimen, killed I think in Sussex, some years since, near Christmas, which has the perfect appearance of a hen but was assured by the person, who dissected it, was a male.
Meet frequently in the sheep of this country & particularly in lambs, teeth totally almost covered with a Pyritical gold-coloured substance pretty thick, sent some to Mr. Pennant, who said, altho' he had often heard of them, had not seen them before, this has undoubtedly given rise to the seeming fable of the sheep with golden teeth, of the antients [ancients], should you like to see any, will with pleasure send you some strongly incrusted; as they are sometimes found in lambs so very young as scarce able to partake of vegetable food, am rather