40 Report upon the Agricultural Features 



to be directly descended from sheep so introduced. The utmost 

 care has been taken in breedincr these sheep, and their classifica- 

 tion according to quality of wool has become a distinct profession. 



The Merino sheep have been divided into Rambouillet, 

 Negretti, and Electoral ; and these principal varieties when 

 crossed have given rise to Rambouillet-Negretti, Electoral- 

 Negretti, &c. Such was the classification adopted in the 

 catalogue, a classification which, except in the case of the 

 Rambouillet, scarcely seemed to be borne out by any observable 

 differences between the sheep thus designated. Thus, the Czilchert 

 and Hunyady sheep were entered as Negretti, although they were 

 to all intents fine Electoral Merinos of remarkably high quality. 

 The ' Wiener Landwirthschaftliche Zeitung ' thus comments 

 upon this point : " The catalogue gave us the usual names 

 Electoral, Electoral-Negretti, «Scc., but we found that the names 

 were often wrongly applied, referring, as they truly did, to the 

 origin rather than to the present character of the flocks thus 

 described. We could only discern two principles or ideas — 

 the production of cloth-wool and combing-wool. The breeder 

 works for one or the other, and aims at different degrees 

 of fineness, and for the production of flesh. But the differ- 

 ence between Electoral and Negretti sheep, which existed 

 fifty years ago, is entirely lost. It would be useless for us to 

 look for, and impossible to find in the herds now called 

 pure Electoral, the spindle legs, flat ribs, bald-headed, badly 

 covered animals with excessively fine super-electoral wool, once 

 characteristic of this section. Equally difficult is it to find 

 the Negretti type, with its heavy fat wools which ten or twenty 

 years ago was looked to as a means of improving flocks, although 

 now-a-days very seldom found. The present cloth-wool Merino 

 is well and strongly built, the head is of middle length and. 

 pretty broad ; the neck short and fleshy, the shoulders and 

 rumps wide ; back straight, and the body round. The feet are 

 firmly placed and well set. The wool is usually from Electoral 

 to Prima fineness, and is soft, of middle length, with mild and 

 not too rich fat. The animals have thickly-set wool, and are- 

 remarkably well covered, especially upon the belly, feet, and head. 

 The extreme fashion for skin wrinkles has also happily been 

 moderated." This description of a good cloth-wool Merino, 

 represents the greater number of those sent for exhibition fronii 

 Austria and Hungary ; and, whether they originally sprung from 

 pure Electoral or Negretti flocks, or were otherwise bred, they 

 may be rightly enough named Electoral-Negretti. 



The Ramhouillct Merino is of French origin, and certainly 

 deserves a distinct notice. These sheep have their head-quarters 

 at the Government sheep-stable of Rambouillet, and it was from. 



