492 SHEEP 



Infantado Merinos were mainly bred by the Duke of Infantado. 

 They were very superior sheep, and many of them were brought 

 to America, notably by Charles Henry Hall. The horns on the 

 rams came nearer to the sides of the head than did those on the 

 Paulars and Negrettis. The Infantados of Atwood mated with 

 Paulars resulted in a great improvement, and from this com- 

 mingling of blood was derived the Atwood family of Merinos, 

 long celebrated for superiority of fleece. 



The reduction of Merino flocks in Spain became serious in 1809 

 with the invasion of that country by the French. The sheep on 



FIG. 219. Wooly Nose and White Nose, two American Merino rams owned by 

 the late J. J. Deeds of Ohio. From photograph, by courtesy of the American 



Sheep Breeder 



four estates were confiscated by the Spanish Council of State because 

 the proprietors had joined the French, with the result that the flocks 

 became sadly depleted. The Paulars, which had numbered 30,000 

 or 40,000, were reduced to 7500 head ; the Negretti, that originally 

 nearly equaled the Paulars in numbers, fell to 6000 ; the Montarcos, 

 that at one time numbered 30,000, dropped to 4000 ; while the 

 Aguirres decreased from 30,000 to 3000 head. Consul Jarvis es- 

 timated that 100,000 of the finest sheep in Spain were destroyed 

 by the ravages of war, leaving only slightly over 20,000. 



The exportation of Merinos from Spain to other countries was of 

 great importance, for with this the improvement of the Merino be- 

 gan. The Spaniards themselves not only did not attempt system- 

 atic improvement but eventually allowed the breed to deteriorate 



