THE MERINO 591 



colour (white being objectionable) ; the eyes are light grey ; 

 the horns in the male well developed, spirally coiled inwards. 

 In the case of ewes, the great majority are absolutely without 

 horns ; when horns do appear, they are comparatively 

 insignificant. To the touch, the back is thin-fleshed, and 

 slightly elevated at the withers ; the backbone is rather 

 sharp. The skin of some breeds is often very much wrinkled, 

 more particularly about the neck, but the great majority 

 of the Australian Merinos are comparatively plain-skinned. 

 Irrespective of the difficulty of shearing, wrinkles are not 

 liked in the camp except as an indication of purity of breed. 

 If it were not the case that the progeny of Vermont and 

 other wrinkled sheep lose the wrinkles, the infusion of fresh 

 blood of this kind would be less in favour. There is a 

 tendency to the production of coarse wool fibre, especially on 

 the crowns of the wrinkles when these are large and 

 numerous. Wool should be abundant, so that at shearing- 

 time little but the nose and hoofs are to be seen projecting 

 from a flouncing ball of white wool. The part of the face 

 not clad with wool should be covered with soft silky hair. 

 In well-bred sheep the wool is close, dense, and fine ; though 

 it varies in these characters, as well as in length and profusion, 

 in the different varieties of the breed, and even within these 

 varieties, according to the locality in which they are reared 

 and kept, or to the nature of the country, food, and climate. 

 Sheep generally produce finer wool after they have been once 

 shorn. Uniformity in the quality is striven for ; the wool of 

 the hind quarter or thigh should not be hairy or strong in 

 staple, but should resemble the wool of the side or fore 

 quarter as much as possible. On being parted for inspection, 

 down the side, shoulder, or back, it should divide freely, 

 without any sign of adhesion or matting, which stamp it as 

 inferior for the purposes of combing wool. A fine, wavy, bright 

 staple should be presented down the sides of the opening (a 

 condition usually more pronounced near the fore quarter than 

 on the thigh), and at the bottom of it a bright flesh-coloured 



tongue, the roof of the mouth, and the skin being black, with the excep- 

 tion of a white spot on the forehead and another on the tip of the tail 

 They yield about f to i^ Ib. less of wool than white sheep, but it has sold 

 at nearly double the price. The sheep are very hardy, and "their 

 jumping powers are extraordinary." 



