8 BULLETIN 94, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



part of the nose, and the muzzle are woolless ; and these are covered 

 with white, silky hair. The wool also extends down the legs to the 

 hoofs. A large amount of yolk or oil is desired, as this is regarded 

 essential to the production of the best quality of fiber, but in a great 

 many cases it has been overdone. The skin is a beautiful shade of 

 pink, the ideal color. The form is rather inferior; the neck is long, 

 shoulders sloping, and the chest is narrow. The withers are thin, 

 the spring of ribs only moderate, consequently the back is rather 

 narrow. Behind, they lack development in the leg of mutton, being 

 more or less u cat-hammed." This type became famous not only in 

 the United States, but in foreign countries as well, and rams were 

 shipped to Australia, South America, and South Africa. Many of 

 the Vermont flocks have been disbanded, but shipments of Merinos 

 are still made frequently from this State both to South Africa and 

 South America. Some prominent men in early American Merino his- 

 tory were Stephen Atwood, of Woodbury, Conn. ; Edwin Hammond, 

 of Middlebury, Vt. ; and William Jarvis, of Weathersfield, Vt. Robert 

 Livingston also did a great deal in establishing the breed. 



The Delaine Merino was developed through Ohio and Pennsylvania 

 and to a lesser extent in Michigan and West Virginia. This type 

 differs from the Vermont Merino in having a smoother body with few 

 or no folds. They possess more size and fatten more readily than 

 the type of American Merino mentioned above. The fiber is consid- 

 erably longer and usually grades as a combing wool. It does not 

 contain as much yolk as that of the American Merino. The Delaine 

 breeders have endeavored to combine mutton qualities with wool, 

 and their success is attested by the present popularity of this type 



There are several different families of Delaines. The most impor- 

 tant of these are the Dickinson, the National, the Victor Beall, the 

 Black Top, and the Improved Black Top. 



Merinos in America are to-day divided into three classes, based upon 

 the folds in their skin, fineness of fiber, their mutton qualities, etc., 

 and are registered under these types. At the Columbian Exposition 

 and again at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904, they were 

 divided into two classes, A and B. Class C has since been added 



It must be admitted that there has been considerable confusion 

 due to this classification. The fairs are not uniform in their specifica- 

 tions as to what comprises the different divisions, the judges are not 

 all of the same opinion, and it is evident that the exhibitors have not 

 the classification as clearly in mind as they should, since lightly folded 

 A class sheep are sometimes shown with the B classes and heavily 

 folded B's occasionally compete with A class sheep for honors. An- 

 other confusing condition is that the different classes do not breed 

 true to type. A B-type ram may sire C-class lambs, or vice versa. 

 Again the number of folds decreases with age, and a lamb that prop- 



