CHAPTER XLVIII 



THE RAMBOUILLET 



The native home of the Rambouillet is in France, in the north- 

 ern part, not far from Paris. The country is gently rolling, the 

 soil is generally of a calcareous nature, and the climate is quite 

 temperate, being warm in summer and not severe in winter. 

 Grasses, wheat and oats, and a variety of crops grow in this region. 



The ancestry of the Rambouillet is Spanish, this being a mem- 

 ber of the great Merino family. The people of Spain in early 

 days produced more wool than their factories could consume, so 

 the surplus was exported, France buying heavily. The French 



Fig. 162. A dignified gateway on the government farm at Rambouillet, 

 France. Photograph by the author 



government anticipated an increase of factories in Spain and con- 

 sequent restriction on exports of wool from that country. This 

 led the French to try to improve their flocks and produce enough 

 fine wool at home to meet domestic demands. In 1783 Louis XVI 



366 



