THE AMERICAN MERINO 



501 



often weigh I 50 pounds or more, and many excellent ewes weigh 

 less than 100 pounds. Among the great rams of a half century 

 ago were many that weighed no to 120 pounds. The weights 

 of some of the early noted rams are as follows: Wooster*, 100 

 pounds; Old Greasy*, no; Old Wrinkley*, 130; Gold Drop*, 

 140; California*, 140; Eureka, 150; Sweepstakes*, 150; Cen- 

 tennial, 165 ; Bismark, 170. Those given a star (*) were used in 



FIG. 223. Prince Charlie, a Merino ram bred by the estate of the late F. E. Body, 

 Bundemar, Trangie, New South Wales, and sold in June, 1918 for $15,120, the 

 highest price on record paid for a sheep. This is the present-day popular type in 

 Australia, though perhaps close to the C type. From photograph, by courtesy of 

 W. T. Ritch, Australian wool expert 



the flock of Edwin Hammond. Of the present-day A type sheep 

 but few rams exceed 160 pounds and few ewes 130 pounds, and 

 then with a full-year weight of fleece. 



The American Merino as a wool producer is famous. No class 

 of sheep shears so strong, fine, and heavy a fleece. Many mature 

 females shear from 12 to 15 pounds, and rams easily attain 20 

 pounds. The Vermont Merino Register gives thirty-six rams, 

 three years old or over, whose fleeces averaged 3 1 pounds i ounce 

 each, one weighing 37 pounds 8 ounces, A two-year-old ram, at 



