THE MERINO BRilEI). 135 



being transported to a colder country, the woolly portion 

 would be more developed, so as to afford a covering to the 

 animal ; but, in truth, it is known, that exceedingly fine wool 

 is found in the north of Africa, though the races of Sheep 

 that produce it have not been discriminated by travellers, 

 and that there is a remarkable tendency in the Sheep of 

 Africa to produce that copious oily secretion of the skin which 

 distinguishes the Merino race from any other in Europe. 

 The fine woollen fabrics of the Barbary States are known 

 over all the countries of the Levant, and are one of the few 

 manufactured productions which these long- desolated coun- 

 tries export. It has been the opinion of many, that the 

 Merino Sheep of Spain have been derived from England. 

 Stow, in his Chronicles, informs that " this yere" (namely, 

 1464), " King Edward IV. gave a license to pass over cer- 

 tain Cotteswolde Sheep into Spain ;" and Baker says, 

 " King Edward IV. enters into a league with John King of 

 Arragon, to whom he sent over a score of Costal ewes and 

 four rams, a small present in show, but great in the event, 

 for it proved of more benefit to Spain, and more detrimental 

 to England, than could at first have been imagined." From 

 this slender incident it were idle to infer that the modern 

 Merino owes its origin to the Sheep of England, though cer- 

 tainly the resemblance of the Dorset breed of England, and 

 particularly of the variety termed the Pink-nosed Somerset, 

 would seem to be sufficiently striking to give some counte- 

 nance to the supposition. But the successor of King John 

 of Arragon was Ferdinand, who married Isabella of Castile, 

 and it was the minister of these Sovereigns who resorted to 

 Africa for Sheep to improve the Spanish wool. Our early 

 writers, who assign an English derivation to the fine-woolled 

 Sheep of Spain, were probably ignorant that already Spain 

 was in possession of the best wool, and manufactured the 

 finest woollen fabrics, in Europe. Upon the whole, although 

 authentic documents on the subject are wanting, there is a 

 presumption that the Sheep of Africa were employed to per- 



