and Extension vf the Merino Breed of Sheep. 427 



by the best judges of wool in this kingdom ; and they are of opinion, that it 

 possesses a softness superior to many of the wools of Spain; and that it certainlv 

 is equal, in every valuable property, to the very best that is to be obtained from 

 thence. 



The sheep producing this fine wool are of the Spanish kind, sent originally from 

 Holland to the Cape of Good Hope, and taken from thence to Port Jackson. 



Captain M'Arthur being persuaded that the propagation of those animals would 

 be of the utmost consequence to this country, procured, in 1797, three rams and 

 five ewes : and he has since had the satisfaction to see them rapidly increase, their 

 fleeces augment in Vv'eight, and the wool very visibly improve in quality. When 

 Captain M'Anhur left Port Jackson, in 1801, the heaviest fleece that had then 

 been shorn weighed only s^lbs. ; but he has feceived reports of 1802, from which 

 be learns, that the fleeces of his sheep were increased to 5 lbs. each; and that the 

 wool is finer and softer than the wool of the preceding year. The fleece of one of 

 the sheep, originally imported from the Cape of Good Hope, has been valued here 

 at 4*. 6d. per lb. and a fleece of the same kind, bred in New South Wales, is esti- 

 mated at 6s. per lb. 



Being once in possession of this valuable breed, and having ascertained that they 

 are improved in that climate, he became anxious to extend them as much 

 as possible. He, therefore, crossed all the mixed bred ewes, of which his 

 flocks were composed, with Spanish rams. The lambs produced from this cross 

 were much improved ; but when they were again crossed, the change far exceeded 

 his most sanguine expectations. In four crosses, he is of opinion, no distinction 

 will be perceptible between the pure and the mixed breed. As a proof of the 

 extraordinary and rapid improvement of his flocks, Captain M'Arthur has exhi- 

 bited the fleece of a coarse-wooUed ewe, that has been valued at gd. a pound ; 

 and the fleece of her lamb, begotten by a Spanish ram, which is allowed to be v»'orth 

 3.?. a pound. 



Captain M'Arthur has now about 4000 sheep, among which there are no rams 



but of the Spanish breed. He calculates that they will, with proper care, double 



themselves every 2^ years; and that, in 20 years, they will be so increased, as to 



produce as much fine wool as is now imported from Spain, and other countries, at 



an annual expense of ^^ 1,800,000. sterling. To make the principle perfectly plain, 



on which Captain M'Arthur founds this expectation, he begs to state, that half his 



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