14 SHEEP : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



folds of skin gathered together over the tail, giving the 

 puckered appearance known as the " rose." The general 

 appearance of Merino sheep must strike an English sheep- 

 breeder as quaint. The white face, pink nose, and light- 

 coloured horns, the skin hanging in folds about the neck and 

 rump, and the almost black outer surface of the fleece all 

 combine to produce a striking effect. The blackness of the 

 fleece is, however, only at the surface, for on catching the 

 animal and opening his wool with the thumb and two first 

 fingers of each hand, it may be parted down to the skin as a 

 funnel-like or lily-shaped orifice, showing wool of silk-like 

 fineness, coloured with orange zones shading into pale yellow, 

 produced by the fat or yolk of the wool. This very pretty 

 appearance of the parted fleece effected neatly by an experi- 

 enced hand is called the " blumen " or flower in Austro- 

 Hungary. It may also be compared in shape to an old- 

 fashioned wine-glass, the rim being at the surface of the 

 fleece. 



The greatest care is taken in the management of Merino 

 flocks, not only to obtain but to preserve the wool in perfect 

 condition. The sheep are constantly tended by shepherds, 

 and are brought into stables every night, or whenever it rains. 

 It is no uncommon thing to see the shepherd running towards 

 the sheep sheds followed at a gallop by all his flock on the 

 approach of a heavy shower. This close attention causes 

 Merino sheep to feed in mobs, shoulder to shoulder. The 

 peculiar dark colour of the extremities of the fleece is owing 

 to dust and dung adhering to the greasy wool, which forms 

 the almost continuous coating already mentioned. 



The following measurements of specimens of Merino wool 

 now lying before me, obtained from sheep at the Vienna 

 Exhibition in 1873, will give a correct idea as to its general 

 character : 



I. Rambouillet ewe wool, bred by C. H. Kayser, Haubitz, 

 Grimma, Saxony, 2| in. long, very dense and firm in fibre, 

 resembling pale yellow silk. 



