THE SHEEP 



185 



of their adaptability and usefulness here, not 

 only urged the importance of these animals 

 but even brought many specimens with them 

 when they returned home. 



For a great many years the Merino was our 

 most popular sheep, and in the northern sec- 

 tions of the country sheep raising was an im- 

 portant industry even on small farms. The 

 Spanish Merino has been greatl\- improved 

 by American breeders ; the type has been 

 changed, the wool made longer and finer, and 

 the carcass improved. Changes have been suf- 

 ficient to indicate a new breed, some breeders 



A GUIIIT OF OhIII K.A.MS 



remains a fact that the American and Spanish 

 Merino are one and the same animal, although 

 the American type is materially different from 



Sheep on the Hillside, Wyoming 



being inclined to call our Merino, though of 

 Spanish inheritance, the American Merino. 

 While the argument is clear and true, it still 



Ewe .\nd Lamb, Ohio 



its old ancestor. The Merino also went into 

 France, w^here it is known as the Rambouillet ; 

 and into Germany, where it is known as the 

 Saxony Merino. Like the American Merino, 

 many changes have been effected over the 

 original stock, justifying the claims for new 

 names for an old breed. 



The French Merinos have, perhaps, a larger 

 carcass than the average American Merino. 

 The French breeders were also the first to pro- 

 duce a Merino combing wool, from which have 

 been developed some of the most interesting 

 and profitable branches of wool manufacturing, 

 though they have subsequently found rivals 



