FINE WOOL SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 101 



ways attends highly artificial varieties and families. 

 What so weak, worthless and miserable as a bad 

 family of Short-Horns or a bad family of Dishley 

 sheep ! 



In giving my opinion of the comparative profitable- 

 ness of the best French and the best American Meri- 

 nos, I will adopt the language of the most noted public 

 advocate of the former, Mr. A. B. Allen. He recently 

 wrote to me : 



" The hardy American Merino, properly selected 

 (mind that, properly selected?), is undoubtedly best for 

 the ordinary sheep master, and most profitable as a 

 wool producer." 



This by no means, however, establishes the fact that 

 the French Merino is without high value in our coun- 

 try. Col. Rotch's remarks in favor of a cross between 

 that and the American Merino have been noted. Mr* 

 Patterson, in answer to an inquiry on that subject, 

 writes to me : 



" I have tried the cross between the French and 

 Spanish [American] Merinos, and succeeded beyond 

 my expectations. Indeed, as a wool growing sheep 

 in the hands of most fanners, and to be kept as sheep 

 are generally kept throughout the country, I have never 

 seen a stock which I thought as profitable, both for 

 wool-grower and manufacturer. * * * I have bred 

 them since 1848, and for the last ten years I have hud 

 more of this kind than all others, although I have 

 always kept a flock of pure Spanish, and have always 

 put French rams to my French ewes, making my cross 

 by putting French rams to my Spanish ewes, not that 

 I think that principle of breeding the best, but it costs 

 much less money to do it. 'And while this cross with 

 me has always been a very profitable wool-growing 



