MERINO, OR SPANISH SHEEP. 
succeeded so admirably, that on the ribs of one three-year-old Leicester wether were found 
seven inches and one-eighth of solid fat, eut without any slope. Attention was then turned 
to the fleece, and by judicious selection and arrangement the two excellences of flesh and 
wool were combined in the same animal. It was found by experience, that Sheep which 
have an inordinately heavy fleece were slower in fattening than those whose coat was 
moderately thick, and that in consequence of the cost in keeping them for a longer period 
they do not pay the farmer so well as those which are heavy in body and moderately thick 
in fleece. 
OF all the domestic varieties of this useful animal, the SPANISH, or MERINO SHEEP, 
has attracted the greatest attention. 
Originally, this animal is a native of Spain, a country which has been for many 
centuries celebrated for the quantity and quality of its wool. The Merino Sheep, from 
whom the long and fine Spanish wool was obtained, were greatly improved by an admixture 
with the Cotswold Sheep of England, some of which were sent to Spain in 1464, and the 
fleece was so improved by the crossing, that the famous English wool was surpassed by 
that which was supplied by Spain. 
The Merino Sheep is but of little use except for its wool, as, although its mutton is 
sufficiently good when fattened, it consumes so much food, and occupies so much time in 
the process of ripening, that it is by no means a profitable animal. The Merino is larger 
in the limbs than the ordinary English Sheep, and the male is furnished with large spiral 
horns. The female is generally hornless, but sometimes possesses these appendages on a 
very small scale. It is liable to bear a black fleece, the sable hue continually making its 
appearance, even after long and careful crossing. By good management the black tint 
has been confined to the face and legs, but is ever lable to come out in spots or dashes in 
the wool. There is always a peculiar hue about the face of a Merino Sheep, not easy to 
describe, but readily to be recognised whenever seen. 
In Spain, the Merinos are kept in vast flocks, and divided into two general heads, the 
Stationary and the Migratory, The former animals remain in the same locality during 
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