THE WOOL BREEDS OF SHEEP 363 
thaginians and the Moors, and from Italy. At the be- 
ginning of the Christian era, historians related that the 
sheep of Spain had a superior fleece. When in the eighth 
century the Moors took possession of Spain, they intro- 
duced the manufacture of fine fabrics, and the sheep of 
Spain furnished the wool. It seems probable that the 
development of the Merino as a bearer of fine wool was 
begun at a date prior to the beginning of the Christian 
eTa. 
Sheep in Spain have long been nomadic, spending the 
summers in the highlands and the winters on the low 
plains. The annual movement of these millions of sheep 
was a notable event. In this connection it is interesting 
to note that the sheep were divided into two great groups 
as related to these drives. One group known as Estantes, 
was stationary on the farms, and was composed of sheep 
of fairly large size, with wool somewhat coarser than that 
of the other type, less exposed, perhaps, to the rigors of 
climate. The second great group, known as Trans- 
humantes, was made up of the migratory sheep that 
constituted the drives. These were subdivided into 
flocks or “squads”? of manageable size for the move- 
ments. 
447. History in America. — Successful importation of 
Merinos to America began in 1801, when Seth Adams 
brought a pair to Massachusetts. In the same year, M. 
Dupont de Nemours is said to have imported one Merino 
ram, which had considerable influence on certain flocks 
in New York and other eastern states. In 1807, Seth 
Adams removed to Ohio, taking with him his Merinos, 
now considerably increased. In 1802, Colonel David 
Humphrey imported from Spain to Connecticut ninety- 
three Merinos, chiefly ewes. The good quality of these 
