BREEDS OF SHEEP AND GOATS 



337 



bred flocks are found to-day in Ohio than in any other state, 

 although Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Oregon, 

 California, and Texas have many flocks. West of the 

 Mississippi there are large numbers of grade Merinos on 

 the range, and without doubt they will continue popular 

 there as long as sheep husbandry is an important industry. 

 The Rambouillet sheep is a breed of Merinos that has 

 been especially developed by the French Government. In 

 1786 King Louis XVI of France sent a Mr. Gilbert to Spain 

 to bring back a selection of Merinos. These were brought 

 to one of the royal farms about 40 miles west of Paris, at a 



town named 

 Rambouillet. 

 Here on this es- 

 tate the govern- 

 ment ever since 

 has bred the de- 

 scendants of 

 these sheep . 

 They were intro- 

 duced into 

 America in 1840, 

 and for many 

 years were 

 1890 the name 

 the term French 

 all the common 



Figure 142. Champion Rambouillet ram, 1920 Ohio 

 State Fair. Photograph by the author. 



known as French Merinos. About 

 Rambouillet came into use, and now 

 Merino is rarely used. These sheep have 

 features of the smooth-bodied Merino. It is the very larg- 

 est family of this breed, however, and has been at times 

 called the " Elephant Merino." The rams weigh about 185 

 pounds at maturity, though some have weighed over 250 

 pounds, and the ewes weigh around 150 pounds. This fam- 

 ily is known as a mutton Merino, and the mutton form is an 

 important feature. Thus one may expect a broad back and 

 a thick leg of mutton in a good specimen of the Rambouillet. 



