THE RAMBOUILLET 



373 



in the personal acquaintance of the author. Owing to their 

 natural vigor the ewes breed to a ripe old age. 



The hardy quality of the Rambouillet is worthy of note. 

 Formerly, when the French Merino was introduced, many found 

 it unsuited to American conditions. The last quarter of a cen- 

 tury, however, has shown that the Rambouillet has excellent 

 wearing qualities, certainly surpassing the mutton breeds. In 

 winter the writer has found them comparatively free from 

 catarrh, while in summer on the same pasture with sheep badly 

 suffering with stomach worms the Rambouillet seemed com- 

 paratively free from the 

 serious effects of the 

 parasite. 



The early maturity of 

 the Rambouillet from the 

 standpoint of Merino de- 

 velopment is distinctly in 

 its favor. The lambs come 

 on rapidly and compare 

 favorably with the mutton 

 breeds. 



The distribution of the 

 Rambouillet is very wide- 

 spread. It is extensively 

 bred in France, Germany, 

 Russia, and other coun- 

 tries of continental Europe 

 and has been exported heavily to Australia, Argentine Repub- 

 lic, and the United States. In South America there are large 

 flocks of choice breeding. In the United States this Merino is 

 extensively distributed from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but is 

 found in pure-bred flocks to a notable degree in Ohio, Michigan, 

 Oregon, Washington, California, and Utah, though excellent flocks 

 occur in other states. 



Organizations to promote Rambouillet sheep were first estab- 

 lished when the American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders' Asso- 

 ciation was organized in 1889 at Pontiac, Michigan. Volume I 

 of the flock book was published in 1891, and up to 1905 seven 



Fig. 167. A Rambouillet ewe, second in class 

 at the Ohio State Fair, 1905. Bred and 

 exhibited by Max Chapman. Photograph 

 by the author 



