10 BULLETIN 313, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



material or methods available in Australia that can not be used 

 in the United States. It has been stated that Australians are fa- 

 miliar with what they call the Vermont sheep and that the use of 

 that blood has mainly been discontinued. In fact the terms used 

 nowadays in Australia in referring to the "Vermont" sheep are 

 far from complimentary, and would seem to overlook the improve- 

 ment in density and quality effected by American Merinos. Objec- 

 tion is made to the excessive wrinkles on the body, to excess of oil 

 in the wool, to shortness, and too great fineness of the wool. These 

 objectionable features are considered to be indicative of and asso- 

 ciated with a lack of constitutional vigor. 



DIVERGENCE OF AUSTRALIAN AND AMERICAN MERINO STANDARDS. 



It would be unwise and un-American to fail to give due weight to 

 the Australian criticism of a type of sheep which is still largely kept 

 in this country, especially since until recent years the standards of the 

 two countries were quite similar. The plan of selling wool, whereby 

 the price received by the grower is set by the manufacturer's buyer, 

 enables the Australian to make a more accurate estimate of profit 

 from various types of wool. The Australian argues that the extra 

 price received for the very fine wools does not offset the value of the 

 greater quantity of " robust " wool secured per acre of land used with 

 the type of sheep now favored. The clearly defined areas of leased 

 land, with no transfer from winter to summer range, also give an 

 added advantage in determining production costs. 



Corresponding to the A, B, and C types of American Merinos now 

 recognized apart from the Rambouillet, Australia has the fine, me- 

 dium, and strong types. None of these can be said to resemble the 

 Eambouillet closely. The " strong " or " robust " wooled type pro- 

 duces a fleece of considerably greater clean weight than is obtained 

 from the finer, tighter-wooled type. The greater bulk and length of 

 the robust fleeces, together with the lessened amount of oil, give a 

 much greater weight of clean wool per sheep than is yielded by the 

 finer-wooled sheep. While the coarser wool may at times be worth 

 less per clean pound than fine wool, it has for some years suffered no 

 discount, and it is found easier to maintain in that uniformity of 

 crimp and brightness that has much to do with fixing values. A 

 further claim for the production of this robust wool is that the sheep 

 which produce it are larger and stronger in constitution. 



AUSTRALIAN OPINIONS AS TO ROBUST WOOL. 



The following extracts from matter published in Australia in this 

 connection shows the development of opinion in that country. In 

 1 899 Mr. Jeffrey, Government wool expert in South Australia, wrote : 



Fine Wool Versus Robust. — Because of the many different types in the 

 Merino class, it is most important to know what particular type is most adapted 



