174 CULTURE OP THE MERINO SHEEP, 



many years to Spain, whence they have been gradually distributed 

 to most parts of Europe, North and South America and our own 

 colonies. Here we have found the Merino a hardy animal, thriving 

 alike on the high and luxuriant pasture lands on the western 

 waters of New England and Monaro, 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the 

 sea, or, on the arid plains of the western interior, where the food 

 consists only of scanty herbage and shrubs. 



I will first draw your attention to the Merino wools grown in 

 Europe, as representative of the average wools of the imported 

 Merino sheep, and then compare them with those grown in our 

 colonies from those sheep, giving at the same time a short state- 

 ment of the climate and soil in which our wools have been grown. 

 No. 1. — The highest class of German clothing wool in the grease, 



sent by the Emperor of Germany to our Agricultual 



Society. 

 No. 2. — The same wool scoured, estimated to be worth 6s. per lb. 



The loss in scouring about 78 to 80 per cent. 

 No. 3. — Fair class Silesian wool roughly washed, worth about 



20d. per lb. 

 No. 4. — The same wool scoured by the manufacturer, ready for 



working ; value 4s. 3d. per lb. 

 In the four small bottles you will observe samples of German 

 and Silesian wool, which are a little longer than the first two. 

 They are of fine quality, and represent the ordinary commercial 

 Silesian wool as sold in London, and used in Europe for their finest 

 fabrics. The Silesian Merino is the ancestor of many of our best 

 flocks, and you will notice presently by the Mudgee samples in the 

 larger bottles, how closely our best earlier wools resembled those 

 from their Silesian progenitors. In the large bottle No. 1, is a 

 sample of the late Hon. E. K. Cox's wool, in 1870. It is beauti- 

 fully fine, and contains every good quality of its Silesian ancestry. 

 Its elasticity and felting qualities can scarcely be surpassed. It 

 was grown at Rawdon near Rylstone, 2,000 feet above the sea. 

 Formation, basalt, porphyry, and carboniferous rocks, country 

 moderately timbered, fair pasture. Mr. Cox won the Grand Prix 

 in Paris in 1878, beating all nations. The box No. 2, contains a 



