THE MERINO. 59 



Feet and Legs — Straight, of medium length with flat bone; 

 bare of wool below the knee and hock, glossy black in 

 color and set well apart S 



Fleece — Moderately short with close fine- lustrous fibre, and 

 without tendency to mat or felt together, or to shade off 

 into dark or gray wool or hair, especially about the neck 

 and tail. The fleece should cover the whole body ex- 

 cept the head and the legs below the knee and hock; 

 and the skin underneath it should be fair, soft and of a 

 pink color 10 



Total 100' 



Cbc Sbort-CClooled Breeds. 



Cbe JMerino. 



The home of this ancient and famous breed appears to have 

 been in Spain, from whence they were imported into France, 

 England, Germany, the United States of America and Australia. 

 They are the only trulj^ short or fine-wooled breed, and as raised 

 -in Spain, were distinctly a wool sheep. We cannot do better 

 here than print verbatim an article written by Mr. E. IST. Ball, 

 Secretary of the Michigan Merino Sheep Breeders' Association, 

 which fully covers the history of the breed and its first importa- 

 tions to this country: 



"The ancestors of the American Merino, called by some 

 at this late date Spanish Merino, Vermont Merino, etc., were 

 imported to the United States from Spain. The true origin of 

 the sheep and the country from which they eminated is some- 

 what uncertain, but at an early day fine-wool sheep of excellent 

 quality were transported from Syria to Greece, from Greece to 

 Italy, and from Italy to Spain. 



