SHEEP. 



hringring them so much earlier to the 



market. 



" Spaniah Sheep.— The Enplish wool 

 beinji, froni the increased coarseness 

 of the libre, rejected by tlie manulac- 

 turer in the constrution of fine cloths, 

 recourse was had to foreign wools, 

 and to those chiefly that were de- 

 rived from the Merino sheep {Fig. 4). 



As early as the cummencement of the 

 Christian era, the wool of the Spanish 

 sheep was in great request for the 

 production of the most costly dresses. 

 In less than half a century afterward 

 we find Columella busily employed 

 Ih improving the Spanish sheep, and 

 the effect of his labours remained 

 during the long dark ages that suc- 

 ceeded. The Merino flocks with- 

 stood the baneful influence of almost 

 total neglect, and continued, to a 

 greater or less degree, to furnish the 

 finest and the choicest wool. 



" By degrees the Merino sheep 

 found its way to almost every part 

 of the European continent, and by 

 careful management its fleece rapidly 

 increased in fineness and in useful- 

 ness. In 1834, the prime wool pro- 

 duced in Spain readily found a sale at 

 from 3s. 6(1. to 4*. per lb. In Saxony 

 it reached to 55. Zd. per lb. , and in some 

 parts of Hungary to 5s. M. In Aus- 

 tralia the cultivation of the Merino 

 sheep and its fleece has proceeded 

 most rapidly and prosperously. 



" The Merino sheep are small in 

 size, with flat sides, narrow chests, 

 and long legs. The wool is usually 

 white, ijut darker on the legs, and 

 face, and ears, and a tuft of coarse 

 ■wool is found on the forehead ; the 



Nn n3 



skin is of a reddish colour, and there 

 is a looseness of the skin under ihe 

 throat, which is considered favoura- 

 ble, as indicative of good fleece. The 

 males have large spiral horns, but the 

 females are without any. With these 

 peculiarities, it must be evident that, 

 as regards the carcass, the Merino is 

 by no means a profitable animal, and 

 to this nmst be added, tliat they are 

 bad nurses, so that one hundred ewes 

 will not bring up more than fifty 

 lambs ; they are also by no means 

 hardy, and the flesh is inferior. To 

 atone for these bad qualities, the wool 

 is superior to every other kind, and 

 forms, indeed, the principal source 

 of profit ; the fleece is close, short, 

 and abounding in yolk, weighing 

 heavy, and is superior to all others 

 in its felting properties. 



" It is computed that not less than 

 ten millions, or a moiety of the whole 

 number of sheep kept in Spain, are 

 migratory, and occupy no less than a 

 quarter of the year in going and re- 

 turning to their summer and winter 

 pastures. These Transhumantes, as 

 they are termed, leave their winter 

 quarters in the south about the mid- 

 dle of April, and proceed slowly on 

 their six weeks' journey. One divis- 

 ion travels towards the east, and the 

 other in a more westerly direction. 

 During their journey they are shorn 

 in large buildings, built expressly for 

 the purpose, which are divided into 

 two large compartments, with a small- 

 er one adjoining. Those sheep which 

 are to be sheared first are driven into 

 the small hut as closely as possible, 

 and there remain throughout the 

 night, so as to occasion a consider- 

 able sweat, which softens the unctu- 

 ous matter, and renders the shearing 

 easier. No previous washing is em- 

 ployed, but in this manner a thousand 

 are shorn in a day, there being a suf- 

 ficient number of shearers in attend- 

 ance for the purpose. This singular 

 custom, which has existed for cen- 

 turies, is protected by certain laws, 

 which give to these sheep the right 

 of pasturage on the common lands (m 

 their passage, and regulate other 

 matters relating to it. The wool is 



701 



