FRENCH SHEEP. 77 



followed by the rest of the flock. The journey usually lasts 

 from twenty to thirty days. ' When they arrive at the moun- 

 tains each shepherd has his appointed boundary marked out ; 

 and the proprietors of the land are usually paid' about twenty 

 sous per sheep for their pasture during the summer. The 

 shepherds sleep with their flock in the open air, and live 

 almost entirely on bread and goats' milk.* 



The question of the influence of these peregrinations on 

 the fleece has been already considered under the head of 

 Spanish Sheep. 



M. Daubenton having experimented a sufficient length of 

 time to test the efiect of change of climate and habits of the 

 Merino, which resulted in their retaining every valtiable 

 quality for which they are so celebrated, the French govern- 

 ment resolved in 1786 to make a trial, under its immediate 

 patronage, on a larger scale than any previously made. 

 " Accordingly 376 ewes and lambs were purchased in Spain, 

 and sent to Rambouillet, in the neighborhood of Paris, 

 where was an agricultural establishment expressly devoted 

 to the improvement of the domesticated animals. Sixty of 

 them died on their passage. 



" The Rambouillet flock gradually increased, and a few were 

 given to those agriculturists who appeared, to be disposed to 

 bestow sufficient care on their cultivation. This was an ill- 

 advised measure. That which could be had as a gift was 

 deemed to possess little value ; and the new breed had not 

 justice done to it. It was then determined that an annual 

 sale of a portion of the flock should take place. The first 

 sale was made -in 1796, ten years after their establishment at 

 Rambouillet. The average weight of the fleece in the yolk 

 was then 6 lbs. 9 oz. ; the average price of the fleece 5 

 francs! — the average price of the sheep, 107 francs for a 

 ram, and 71 francs for a ewe, and the highest price at 

 which a single sheep sold was 200 francs. Five years 

 afterwards the flock had so much improved in public estima- 

 tion, and in real value, that the average weight of the fleece 

 was 9 lbs.— its price 28 francs ; the average price of the 

 ram 412 francs, that of the ewes 236 francs, and the high- 

 est price of any of the sheep 630 francs.f 

 ~ " The most rigorous examination was instituted ; and the 



* Annales de I'Agric. France. 



t A franc is about one fifth of a dollar. 



7* 



