THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS 33 



still Australia or for cross-breeding on larger Me- 

 rinos where the wool has become light or thin. The 

 breed has a marvelous history and the work of the 

 American Merino breeders is one of which we may 

 well be proud. Unquestionably great improvement 

 was worked in the breed after bringing it from 

 Spain to America. 



DELAINE MEKINOS AND BLACK TOPS. 



These two families have been bred by selection 

 from the original Spanish ; the Black Tops from the 

 importation of 1802, the Delaines from the Black 

 Top foundation, with some outcrosses of other Me- 

 rino blood. The idea in developing these two fami- 

 lies has been to secure a larger sheep than the orig- 

 inal Merino, a better feeder, a hardier sheep and 

 with a "Delaine" wool. This wool should have 

 parallel fibers of sufficient length for combing pur- 

 poses. There is unquestionable merit in these sheep 

 and in the hands of some breeders they approach 

 closely to the mutton type without losing their valu- 

 able fleeces. Delaines are hardy, healthy when 

 rightly managed, their lambs from mutton sires are 

 superior for the market and a well-managed flock 

 of either Delaines or Black Tops has never been un- 

 profitable. The name "Black Top" was given by 

 the originator of the type because his best sheep 

 had a dark crust on the outside of the fleece com- 

 posed of oil and dirt, this crust keeping out weather 

 and serving to shelter the sheep. 



The Blacktop sheep is essentially an American 



