254 



THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



some demand for even the finest and shortest wool, so there 

 will be for the medium Merino fleece. But it is clear that the- 

 tendency is to the use of longer wools and somewhat coarser 

 fiber. This will be supplied by the Rambouillet Merino, 

 with its crosses and varieties known by various names: Me- 



FIG. 22. 

 Ram M eri no Ewe. 



rino, fig. 22; Cotswold, fig. 21; Southdown, fig. 20; Shrop- 

 shire, fig. 19; and Leicester, fig. 18; and those of our com- 

 mon American Merino, which has hitherto been of such 

 enormous value to American breeders. The illustrations 

 here given will go to show how great a variety of wools 

 may be produced in this way, and that with the natural 

 increase in the consumption and demand for various kinds of 

 wools, the Merino will not find its occupation gone, but 



FIG. 23. 

 y z Merino and Southdown. 



FIG. 24. 

 Merino. M Southdown. 



greatly increased, as the progenitor of rams for cross-breed- 

 ing, and in addition to its own special use as a wool-bearer, 

 for the supply of numerous fabrics that will never go out of 

 fashion. 



In all these samples we may perceive the effect of the 



