160 CONKEY'S STOCK BOOK 



FINE WOOLED BREEDS Last, but in any classification from the wool- 

 MERINOS growing standpoint, first of all, come the 



fine-wooled varieties, practically all of them 

 some shape or form of Merino. 



MERINO HISTORY All of these have been developed from the old 

 Spanish Merino, a breed long held in monopoly 



by the wily kings and clergy of Spain in days of Spanish glory. It was 

 by this breed that Spain for so long controlled the fine wool trade of the 

 world. In fact none were permitted to leave the kingdom until 1765, when 

 300 were sent to Saxony, founding there the Saxon Merinos. The Eng- 

 lish climate was a little hard on Merino wool; so that the Merino there 

 deteriorated. But from England they were taken to Australia and New 

 Zealand, with what increase and development the whole world knows. 

 Is it too much to say that it was to these sheep Great Britain owed in 

 large part the wonderful development of her penal colony into her greatest 

 colonial empire? Australia today produces in wool 756,690,163 Ibs., the. 

 mother country less than 134,000,000. 



' No wonder the Merino "pulls the wool over our eyes:" although as 

 mutton the Merino is distinctly inferior. Meanwhile, the Spanish Merinos 

 sent to France and carefully bred there on different lines, have produced 



Fine Type of Rambouillet Ram 



our present day Rambouillet or French Merino, regarded now as a distinct 

 breed and certainly excellent for mutton as well as for its fine grade of 

 wool. 



MUTTON TYPE In mutton breeds we look for depth, length and regu- 

 larity of form, with shoulders and hips well molded, 



fleece even. Of all mutton types the Lincoln is largest and heaviest. 

 That is why Lincolns are so valuable for grading a flock up for mutton. 

 This breed is the earliest maturing of any, and yields a 9 to 11 Ib. fleece, 

 ? good investment for the intensive farmer. Dorsets, which with Cheviots 



