Breeds of Sheep 26 



of which at times is equal to one third that of the 

 body. This class of sheep seems to have found but 

 little place either in Europe or America. Only a 

 few of the native Asiatic type have the form of tail 

 possessed by modern sheep, and this fact as well as 

 the history of the movements of the earlier peoples 

 connects the stock of modern times with that of the 

 early Jews and Syrians. 



Most, though not all, wild types of sheep have a 

 growth of wool that is softer and finer than the outer 

 and longer hairy covering. The development of 

 the wool and elimination of the hair under the direc- 

 tion of the early peoples was such as to give great 

 value to the fleece, which was then the main object 

 of sheep-raising. 



Early sheep-breeding in Europe. - — From the eastern 

 lands the Romans brought sheep of fine-wool-bear- 

 ing qualities. They advanced the art of wool-grow- 

 ing for a time, but their work was not continued, and 

 its influence persisted only through such of their 

 stock as was transferred to Spain. Up to the middle 

 of the fifth century, the Spanish flocks also received 

 modifications through the stock of the Carthaginians 

 and the Moors. Much of the Merino's oil-bearing 

 quality seems to have had its source in the bipod of 

 the sheep of Northern Africa introduced into Spain 

 by the Moors at the time of their occupation of that 

 country in the eighth and ninth centuries. This 

 fact and the favorable influence of the climate and 



