30 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



Breeders of Merino sheep have followed many 

 fashions and some that were their undoing. At one 

 time the aim was to secure a fleece of extreme fine- 

 ness, though by this course was secured a sheep of 

 little stamina and of small value for mutton produc- 

 tion. Again the aim sought was an excessive amount 

 of oil or "yolk" in the fleece, which made it heavier. 

 This weakened the sheep, made it sensitive to cold 

 weather and, curiously enough, as the weight of 

 yolk increased in the wool, manufacturers kept apace 

 of the fact in buying, and by paying for it on a 

 scoured basis there was nothing at all gained to 

 the grower who sold the excessive grease. A manu- 

 facturer once related to the writer how in the palmy 

 days of heavy fleeces a celebrated ram's fleece was 

 brought to him to be scoured ; it weighed 45 pounds, 

 was probably of 18 or 24 months' growth and made 

 less than 12 pounds of scoured wool! The farmer 

 then had wasted food enough to produce more than 

 30 pounds of a product of little utility ; in fact, be- 

 ing only a drain on the strength of the animal that 

 produced it. It is of course essential that wool 

 should have a sufficient amount of this yolk to pre- 

 serve the fiber ; more than this is a damage in every 

 way. 



It would seem that now the fads in Merino sheep 

 have nearly disappeared and the breeders of the 

 present time are breeding useful Merinos, with gen- 

 erally more size and better forms and more of mut- 

 ton quality than was once seen. 



The importance of the Merino breed will be rec- 



