72 FINE WOOL SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 



The American Merino. 



When the Saxon sheep disappeared, the improved 

 Spanish Merino again came into general favor. Thus 

 far I have used the term " Spanish" in speaking of 

 them, but it is quite time to change our ovine nomen- 

 clature in this particular. France and Saxony have 

 produced distinct and self-sustaining* varieties of the 

 Merino, and given them their national names. The 

 American variety, though departing far less essen- 

 tially from the original standard of the race, is equal- 

 ly distinct and equally self-sustaining. Let us then 

 hereafter talk of American instead of Spanish Meri- 

 nos, unless we mean by the latter designation the pres- 

 ent inferior sheep of Spain. 



The American Merinos, when again brought into 

 public favor between 1840 and 1845, were found 

 divided into several as well marked families as were 

 their Leonese ancestors in 1800. This arose partly 

 from the preservation of the original family blood 

 unmixed, and partly from the courses of breeding 

 adopted by their owners. 



Premising that the order in which I place them im- 

 plies no attempted gradation as to merit, I will pro- 

 ceed to describe : 



1. Mr Jarvis's, or the mixed Leonese sheep of the 

 United States. What varieties of his imported sheep 

 he bred together has already been made to appear. 

 Those of their descendants which I saw twenty years 

 ago were not perhaps quite as light in weight, long in 



* That is, reproducing their characteristics in their offspring with 

 regularity. 



