48 Essay on Sheep, 



vians equal them in the latter particular, but 

 fall far short in the former; but the sheep of 

 the Escurial are the finest in Spain. The dif- 

 ference between the Merinoes that compose the 

 national flocks of France and those lately im- 

 ported from Spain, under the treaty of Bale 

 (though these also are picked sheep), is so strik- 

 ing, that we can hardly attribute it solely to the 

 care and attention which they have received in 

 France, though much is doubtless due to this 

 circumstance. Fortunately for France, the im- 

 provement in sheep begun under Lewis the six- 

 teenth was continued through a revolution, in 

 which almost every other useful institution was 

 involved in ruin. A committee of asfriculture 

 was formed in the Convention, and under their 

 protection the amelioration of the Merino flocks 

 happily progressed. From these flocks a num- 

 ber of rams and ewes are annually sold, after 

 the finest are picked out to keep up the original 

 stock. It is very conceivable that this attention 

 must contribute greatly to the improvement of 

 their stock. It is remarkable, that though in 

 pursuance of an article in the treaty of Bale, 

 five thousand Spanish sheep have been intro- 

 duced by the government, and a great number 

 by individuals, and for the term of twenty years 

 rams and ewes have been annually sold from 



