Page:The Poems of John Dyer (1903).djvu/58

Of full and ruddy eye, large ears, stretch'd head,
Nostrils dilated, breast and shoulders broad,
And spacious haunches, and a lofty dock.
Thus to their kindred soil and air induc'd, 225
Thy thriving herd will bless thy skilful care,
That copies Nature, who, in every change,
In each variety, with wisdom works,
And powers diversifi'd of air and soil,
Her rich materials. Hence Sabæa's rocks, 230
Chaldæa's marle, Egyptus' water'd loam,
And dry Cyrene's sand, in climes alike,
With different stores supply the marts of trade:
Hence Zembla's icy tracks no bleaters hear:
Small are the Russian herds, and harsh their Fleece; 235
Of light esteem Germanic, far remote
From soft sea-breezes, open winters mild,
And summers bath'd in dew: on Syrian sheep
The costly burden only loads their tails:
No locks Gormandel's, none Malacca's, tribe 240
Adorn; but sleek of flix, and brown like deer,
Fearful and shepherdless, they bound along
The sands. No Fleeces wave in torrid climes,
Which verdure boast of trees and shrubs alone,
Shrubs aromatic, caufee wild, or thea, 245
Nutmeg, or cinnamon, or fiery clove,
Unapt to feed the Fleece. The food of wool
Is grass or herbage soft, that ever blooms
In temp'rate air, in the delicious downs
Of Albion, on the banks of all her streams. 250
Of grasses are unnumber'd kinds, and all
(Save where foul waters linger on the turf)
Salubrious. Early mark when tepid gleams
Oft mingle with the pearls of summer showers,
And swell too hastily the tender plains; 255
Then snatch away thy sheep: beware the rot;