52 STATES OF THE ElVEE PLATE. 



shape, fine and soft in -wool, and a fair weight of fleece in 

 the higher strains of blood. 



Bearing in mind, however, that size, yield of fat, weight 

 of fleece, and strength of staple, are the points that are 

 needed in the highest degree, I cannot see that, as a 

 general rule, these breeds fulfil our most urgent require- 

 ments. There can be no doubt, however, of the desirability 

 and value of this blood in its higher grades, (nine-tenths 

 of those imported are almost worse than useless, they 

 have neither purity nor quality,) when parties have flocks 

 unusually well-suited to an union with this blood ; but, 

 as a rule, the animal is too small to produce, in its cross, 

 the first essential improvement, viz. considerable increase 

 of fat and fleece, and can never be so profitable as the 

 larger varieties. 



Again, our wools have already a degree of fineness — 

 an imhealthy fineness — which is its defect — so that it 

 could hardly be expected that the graft of the Negretti 

 fineness would effect an improvement in this respect, or 

 give us a more sound basis for development. 



Besides, the weiglit of the Negretti fleece* is not, as a 

 rule, so great, nor the wool so long, as to sufl5ce, in a few 

 crosses, to raise the standard of fleece in the ' Mestizos ' 

 to an extent that would make the Mestizo rams the most 

 desirable to put into our flocks. We urgently require an 

 immediate, material augmentation in the length of wool, 

 weight of fleece and carcass, as the sine qua non for the 

 present position of our flocks. This breed, nevertheless, 



* In the highest grades of the Ncgretti there are weighty fleeces, 

 when, as they are usually, heavy in grease. This condition of greasiness in 

 the wool is remarkable in the Negrettis; and, as the loss is very gi'eat in 

 washing, it will always be taken into consideration in the price paid, 

 especially as the fleeces have a decided tendency to collect dirt. These 

 animals are procurable only at great cost, and, like the highest types of 

 other varieties, are only suitable for the high-caste breeder's purpose. 



