676 MERINO, OR SPANISH SHEEP. 
the whole of their lives, but the latter are accustomed to undertake regular annual 
migrations. The summer months they spend in the cool mountainous districts, but as 
soon as the weather begins to grow cold, the flocks pass into the warmer regions of 
Andalusia, where they remain until April. The flocks are sometimes ten thousand in 
number, and the organization by which they are managed is very complex and perfect. 
Over each great flock is set one experienced shepherd, who is called the “mayoral,” and 
who exercises despotic sway over his subordinates. Fifty shepherds are placed under his 
orders, and are supplied with boys and intelligent dogs. 
Under the guardianship of their shepherds, the Merino Sheep, which have spent the 
summer in the mountains, begin their downward j journey about the month of September ; 
and after a long and leisurely march, they arrive at the pasture-grounds, which are 
recognised instinctively by the Sheep. In these pasturages the winter folds are prepared, 
and here are born the young Merinos, which generally enter the world in March, or the 
beginning of April. Towards the end of that month the Sheep begin to be restless, and 
unless they are at once removed, will often decamp of their own accord. Sometimes a 
whole flock will thus escape, and, guided by some marvellous instinct, will make their way 
to their old quarters unharmed, except perchance by some prowling wolf, who takes 
advantage of the shepherd’s absence. : 
The very young lambs are not without their value, although they furnish no wool, for 
their skins are prepared, and sent to France and England, where they are manufactured 
into gloves, and called by the name of “kid.” 
Many attempts have been made to naturalize this most important animal, but with 
little suce At one time the Merino Sheep was in the highest repute, but as it does 
not combine the mutton- making with the wool-producing power, it has long ago been left 
unnoticed. On the Continent, however, the Merino Sheep has been most valuable, and by 
judicious crossings with the already existing varieties, has produced a number of very 
useful breeds. It is found that if a Merino be left untouched by the shears for two 
seasons, the wool will double its length, and be equally fine in texture. In one case, a 
half-bred Merino was clipped after having been put aside for a whole year, and it was 
found that her fleece weighed twenty-one ‘pounds, the length of the “pile” being eight 
inches. The health of the Sheep appears to be uninjured by permitting the animal to retain 
its coat for two years. 
The Australian Sheep, which roams the plains in such vast multitudes, and which 
furnishes so large a supply of wool to the world’s commerce, owes much of its value to a 
cross with the Merino, several of which animals were imported into Australia by some 
far-seeing man of business. 
A few words may fitly be spoken in this place upon the peculiar hair which decorates 
the Sheep, and which is called by the name of wool. 
Wool is a very curious kind of hair, and may be recognised at once by any one who 
possesses a tolerable microscope. If a single hair of the Sheep’s wool be subjected to a 
powerful lens, a vast number of serrations are seen, which, when carefully examined, 
resolve themselves into a series of notched ridges, which surround the hair closely. To use 
a familiar illustration, the hair bears a strong resemblance to a number of thimbles thrust 
into each other, and with their edges notched like so many saws. It is to this notched or 
jagged surface of the hair that the peculiar value of Sheep’s wool is owing, for it is by 
means of these serrations that the hairs interlock with each other in that mode which is 
popularly termed “felting.” Tf a handful of loose wool be taken and well kneaded 
the fibres become inextricably matted together, and form the substance which we 
term “felt.” In a similar manner, when woollen thread is made into cloth, and subjected 
to the hard usage of its manufacture, the fibres of the different threads become so firmly 
adherent to each other that they never become unravelled when the cloth is cut or torn. 
The “felting” property is greatly increased by the propensity of woollen fibre to contract 
when touched by water. It is in consequence of this peculiarity that woollen fabries will 
always shrink when they are wetted for the first time after their manufacture. The reader 
may naturally wonder ae the wool does not become thus matted together when it is 
upon the Sheep’s back, and subject to the influence of nightly dew and. daily rain. The 
