12 SHEEP I BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



The Rambouillet Merino is of French origin. The charac- 

 ter of the wool is fine, but much longer than the Negretti 

 type, and the weight yielded per head is much heavier. The 

 skin of the Rambouillet is also free from those characteristic 

 wrinkles which are a feature in the Spanish Merino. 



The selection of ewes and rams for the proper preservation 

 of the quality of the wool has been already alluded to. All 

 extensive flocks are divided into sections differing from each 

 other in the quality of their fleeces. A large flock is divided 

 as follows: (i) Prima, (2) super-prima, (3) elector, (4) super- 

 elector, (5) super-super-elector, and in some cases a still 

 higher grade entitled " super-super-super-elector." The term 

 secunda is also employed to indicate a grade inferior to the 

 prima, making in all seven degrees of fineness. The skill of 

 the classifier is shown in his recognition of the following 

 points : Strength, or what is usually spoken of as kraft, 

 indicated by the amount of grease in the wool. The fat 

 exists in three forms, soft or liquid, middle fat, and broken 

 stiff fat, and in each case the colour may be yellow or white. 

 2. The wool should be equally fine over the whole body. A 

 coarser quality may be expected on the rump and tops of the 

 shoulders, and a weaker quality under the belly. 3. Curl, or 

 the minute crinkles or waves in the wool fibre which give 

 elasticity to the fleece. Both a long hair-like fibre, as at B 

 (see page 13), and a too abrupt curl in which the waves are 

 reduplicated or curl back upon themselves, as at C, are to be 

 avoided. The best form of curl is a uniform crinkle, as at A. 

 4. Thickness of wool upon the skin. A Merino will carry 

 40,000 to 48,000 wool fibres upon a square inch of skin. 

 The wool-bearing surface is also considerably increased in 

 the Spanish Merinos by the folds of skin on the neck and 

 over the rump. 5. The closure of the wool at the surface is 

 very important, as an open fleece lets in dirt and foreign 

 bodies, whereas a well-closed fleece presents the appearance 

 of a continuous surface. 6. The wool must grow over the 

 entire body down to the claws, and wool fibres are often seen 



