THE MERINO, OR SPANISH SHEEP. 



6 7S 



succeeded so admirably, that on the ribs of one three-year-old Leicester wether were 

 found seven inches and one-eighth of solid fat, cut without any slope. Attention was 

 then turned to the fleece, and by judicious selection and arrangement the two excel- 

 lences of flesh and wool were combined in the same animal. It was found by experi- 

 ence, that Sheep which have an inordinately heavy fleece were slower in fattening than 

 those whose coat was moderately thick, and that in consequence of the cost in keep- 

 ing them for a longer period they do not pay the farmer so well as those which are 

 heavy in body and moderately thick in fleece. 



OF all the domestic varieties of this useful animal, the SPANISH, or MERINO SHEEP, 

 has attracted the greatest attention. 



Originally, .this animal is a native of Spain, a country which has been for many 

 centuries celebrated for the quantity and quality of its wool. The Merino Sheep, from 

 whom the long and fine Spanish wool was obtained, were greatly improved by an ad- 



MERINO, OR SPANISH SHEEP. 



mixture with the Cotswold Sheep of England, some of which were sent to Spain in 1464, 

 and the fleece was so improved by the crossing, that the famous English wool was sur- 

 passed by that which was supplied by Spain. 



The Merino Sheep is but of little use except for its wool, as, although its mutton is 

 sufficiently good when fattened, it consumes so much food, and occupies so much time 

 in the process of ripening, that it is by no means a profitable animal. The Merino is 

 larger in the limbs than the ordinary English Sheep, and the male is furnished with 

 large spiral horns. The female is generally hornless, but sometimes possesses these 

 appendages on a very small scale. It is liable to bear a black fleece, the sable hue con- 

 tinually making its appearance, even after long and careful crossing. By good manage- 

 ment the black tint has been confined to the face and legs, but is ever liable to come out 

 in spots or dashes in the wool. There is always a peculiar hue about the face of a Me- 

 rino Sheep, not easy to describe, but readily to be recognized whenever seen. 



In Spain^the Merinos are kept in vast flocks, and divided into two general heads, the 

 Stationary and the Migratory. The former animals remain in the same locality during 



