224 SHEEP INDUSTRY OP THE UNITED STATES 



fed tliein part of the year with an insufflcieut quantity of straw or poor 

 fodder, made them graze in the forests, on the borders of swamps, on 

 wet and meagre pastures where the animals found neither the proper 

 quantity nor quality of nourishment. It was noticeable, however, that 

 the Merino subjected to this bad treatment imperceptibly degenerated, 

 and that their wool deteriorated in quality. While such was the case 

 with careless keeping by inattentive people, it was observed, on the 

 other hand, that with carefal and attentive farmers and breeders the 

 wool preserved its primitive quality. The same was observed in Hol- 

 land and various parts of Germany, all of which went to show that the 

 degeneracy of the Merino, on being taken from Spain to other countries, 

 was caused more by poor treatment, ignorance, and carelessness than 

 by the change of climate. This will be found to hold good everywhere 

 and strictly so in Spain, where it has been found that the Merino de- 

 generates unless given the necessary care. Lasteyrie, in his travels iu 

 Spain, found similar resiilts of degeneration to those experienced in 

 Sweden; good care gave good animals and iine wool; bad care, poor 

 animals and coarse wool, upon which he remarks that ''this difference 

 proves that nature, in nearly all circumstances, complies with our needs 

 only when we know how to consult her in her operations, follow her in 

 her progress, and aid her with intelligence." 



With the small farmer, poor and unprovided with sufficient fodder, 

 the Merinos suffered some deterioration in size and ileece, but in the 

 hands of the rich and careful landowners they increased in size and 

 kept up the quality of the fleece. They preserved their primitive forms ; 

 their fleece was thick and the fibers very close. Their wool lost noth- 

 ing of its fineness, length, or elasticity. The weight of the fleece was 

 kept up, some rams producing 13 pounds (12 oitnces to the pound). 

 The naturalized animals were larger and stronger than those of Spain. 



Schulzenheim's flock, in the province of Upland, were descended di- 

 rectly from individuals imjiorted from Spain, and at the end of fifty 

 years preserved the quality of the wool perfectly, a comparison with 

 the best Spanish Merino showing no deterioration. His experiments, 

 extending through five generations, demonstrated by a comparison of 

 the fleeces that the last descendants lost none of the qualities which 

 made the breed commendable, going to prove conclusively that the 

 Spanish Merino could be propagated and kept in cold countries with- 

 out losing anything of the fineness and beauty of their wool. The suc- 

 cess was to that degree that it resulted in diminishing the importation 

 of short wool and in increasing the manufacture of the fine cloths; and 

 after the lapse of more than a century the stranger race produced wool 

 nearly as soft and fine as at its first importation. 



The course of this improvemejit, in the sheep and wool of Sweden was 

 not unobserved by the German States, whose sheep were generally in- 

 ferior and whose wool was coarse. Efforts had been made to impro^^e 

 the few coarse sheep that had grown up in neglect during the intestiuo 



