and Extension of the Merino Breed of S beep. 375 



" The woolle of Spaine it cometh not to preeffe, (proof) 



•' But if it be costed and menged (minded) well 



" Amongst the English wollc the grciter del'i . 



" For Spanish wool in Flanders draped is, 



" And ever hath bee ; that men have rainde of this. 



" And yet wooll is one of the chief irarchandy 



" That longeth to Spaii e : whoso will espie, 



" It is of little value, trust unto mee, 



" With English wooll but if it menged bee." 



This Spanish wool is, in the Preface, said to have been carried to Bruges, where we 

 know the market for it existed two centuries afterwards.* 



In 1470, certain Spanish ships bound for Flanders were taken by English pirates. 

 The owners complained to Henry the Sixth, that the wool, which formed a part of 

 their cargoes, would have yielded in Flanders four pounds sterling the sack of one 

 quintal and three quarters.t Now if we take for a standard the present weight of 

 Cadiz, which is to ours as 109 to 105, 175 lbs. will be iSi^lbs, for the Spanish 

 sack. This quantity, at ^4. would be equal to 3641b. for about £8. ; which sums, 

 the pound of silver being at that time divided into thirty-seven shillings and six- 

 pence, and, of course, the shilling being worth 15. y\d. of our present coin, would 

 at this day be equivalent to £6. lis. Sd. and £^13. 35, 4^d, This happened during 

 the short restoration of Henry the Sixth, after numerous sanguinary combats, which 

 had wiasted the people, and so far diminished the demand for manufactured goods, 

 that various cloths, which, in 1514, sold for £6. each, are said to have been worth 

 only 40i. in the time of Edward the Fourth.^ Our wool must doubtless have been 

 proportionably cheap; but I can find no actual authority for its value at any nearer 

 period than 45 years before, when England had peace at home, or 64 years after- 

 wards, when our manufactures of all kinds had been greatly improved, and were 

 proportionably demanded. This incident, therefore, on which some authors have 

 laid great stress, affords no just grounds of conclusion. 



If to these facts we add those which I have stated above, relatively to the sup- 

 posed exportation of our sheep to Spain, I believe that, notwithstanding the perti- 

 nacity of our countrymen, we shall find no others which can furnish the slightest 

 suspicion that the Merino breed was derived from England. 



That Spain itself abounded with sheep at the very commencement of what by 



* Hackluyt, I. 187, 188, 189. f Foedera, XI. 671. j Anderson, 15 iz. 



