146 THE SHEEP. 



flocks. The request was at once complied with ; a small 

 and choice flock was presented to His Majesty by the Mar- 

 chioness del Campo di Alange of the Negretti flocks, esteemed 

 to be the most valuable in Spain ; and, in return, His Majesty 

 presented to the Marchioness eight splendid coach-horses. 

 This flock arrived in England in 1791, and was immediately 

 transferred to the Royal farms, while all those previously 

 imported were disposed of or destroyed. 



On the first change of these Sheep to the moist and luxu- 

 riant pastures of England, they suffered greatly from dis- 

 eases, and, above all, rot, which destroyed numbers of them ; 

 and from foot-rot, which affected them to a grievous extent. 

 By a little change of pastures, these evils were remedied ; 

 and, after the first season, the survivors became reconciled 

 to their new situation, and their progeny seemed thoroughly 

 naturalized, and remained as free from diseases as the Sheep 

 of the country. The wool was from year to year carefully 

 examined : that of the original stock remained unaffected by 

 the change of climate, while, in that of their descendants, 

 little degeneracy could be detected either in its felting pro- 

 perties or fineness. 



This experiment excited extreme interest throughout the 

 kingdom. Various individuals endeavoured to cultivate the 

 pure race, but experiments were mainly directed towards 

 crossing the native breeds with Merino rams, in the hope of 

 combining the fineness of the Spanish fleece with the econo- 

 mical qualities of the English Sheep. With this design, the 

 Merino rams were made to cross the South Down, the Wilt- 

 shire, the Leicester, and the Byeland ewes ; and in some 

 cases the experiment was reversed, and the English rams, 

 especially of the Eyeland Breed, were put to the Merino 

 ewes. Many distinguished agriculturists, Mr Coke, after- 

 wards Earl of Leicester, Sir Joseph Banks, the Duke of Bed- 

 ford, the late Lord Somerville, and others, prosecuted these 

 curious and important experiments ; and the writings of Dr 

 Parry and others brought the subject in a prominent manner 

 before the country. 



