270 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 



fineness. Some very fine wool is stiff and the fibres almost straight, like 

 hair. It has a dry, cottony look. This is a poor, unsalable article, how- 

 ever fine the fibre. Sofi;ness of" wool — a delicate, silky, highly elastic feel, 

 between the fingers «r on the lips, is the first tiling to look after. This is 

 usually an index, or inseparable attendant, of the other good qualities, so 

 that an experienced judge can decide, with little difficulty, between the 

 quality of two fleeces, in the dai-k ! Wool should be finely serrated or 

 crimped from one extremity to the other — i. c, it should present a regular 

 series of minute curves, and, generally, the greater the number of these 

 curves in a given length, the higher the quality of wool in all othei' 

 particulars. The wool should open on the back of the sheep in connected 

 ■mass.es, instead of breaking up into little round spiral ringlets of the size 

 of a pipe-stem, which indicate thinness of fleece ; and when the wool is 

 pressed open each way with the hands, it should be dense enough to con- 

 ceal all but a delicate rose-colored line of skin. The interior of the wool 

 should be a pure, glittering white, with a lustre and " liveliness " of look 

 not surpassed in the best silk. 



The points in the form of the Merino which the breeder is called upon 

 particularly to eschew, are — a long, thin head, narrow between the eyes — 

 a thin, long neck, arching downward before the shoulders — bad crops — 

 back falling behind the shoulders — narrow loin — flat ribs — steep, narrow 

 hindquarters — long legs — thighs scarcely meeting at all — legs drawn far 

 under the body at the least approach of cold. All these points were sep- 

 arately or conjointly illustrated in many of the Saxon flocks which have 

 been recently swept from the country. The points to be avoided in the 

 fleece have been sufficiently adverted to. 



Having thus attempted to establish a standard for the Merino-breeder, 

 it remains that we examine some of the most important principles, in 

 breeding, by which that standard is to be reached or maintained. 



The first gi'eat starting-point, among pure-blood animals, is that " like 

 will beget like." If the sire and dam are perfect in any given point, the 

 offspring will generally be ; if either is defective, the offspring will (sub- 

 ject to a law presently to be adverted to) be half way between the two; 

 if both are defective in the same point, the progeny M-ill be more so than 

 either of its parents — it will inherit the amount of the defect in both pa- 

 rents added together. There arc exceedinglj^ few perfect animals. Breed- 

 ing, then, is a system of counterbalancing — breeding out — in the offspring, 

 the defects of one parent, by the marked excellence of the other parent, 

 in the same points. The highest blood confers on the parent possessing it 

 the greatest power of stamping its own characteristics on its progeny ; but 

 blood being the same, the male sheep possesses this power in a greater 

 degree than the female. We may, therefore, in the beginning, breed 

 from ewes ])Ossessing any defects short of cardinal ones, without impro- 

 priety, provided we possess the proper ram for that purpose ; but the 

 flockmaster, aiming at a high standard of quality, should gradrially throw 

 out from breeding all ewes possessing even considerable defects. Every 

 year should make him more rigorous in his selection. But from the be- 

 ginning — and in the beginning more_ than at any other time — the greatest 

 care should be evinced in the selection of the ram. If he has a defect, 

 that defect is to be inherited by the whole future flock. If it is a material 

 one, as, for example, a hollow back, bad crops, a thin fleece, or a highly 

 imeven fleece, the flock will be one of low quality and little value. If, on 

 the other hand, he is perfect, the defects in the females will be lessened, 

 and gradually bred out. But it being difficult to find perfect rams, we are 

 to take those which have the fewest and lightest defects, and none of 



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