THE SHEEP. 



Merino Sheep. 



Prominent among the domestic varieties of the sheep is the Merino, a native of Spain. It is prized 

 as having the finest wool of any specie hred in Europe. The Merino Sheep, in Spain, are always kept 

 in the open air, being driven before summer to the cool mountains, and brought back again before winter to 

 the warm plains. The distance traversed is upwards of four hundred miles, and the time necessary to 

 complete the journey about seven weeks. The number of sheep in one flock is often as high as ten thou- 

 sand ; and the aggregate of all the flocks is often not less than six millions. The Merino is rather a 

 handsome Sheep. The horns of the male are large and finely curving ; the female is without these 

 appendages. The color of the wool is pure white, but, from its closeness and oily nature, the dust adheres 

 to it much more than to coarser wools, and thus the external color is commonly brownish. 



ri37^ 



Common Domestic Sheep. 



An English Shepherd. 



