Breeds of Sheep 199 
mutton, without wads of fat or patchiness on sides or rump. The 
fleece covering is exceedingly variable in length and fineness. 
Sometimes sheep are classified according to the quality and 
length of the wool, in which case we have the fine-wool type, noted 
for the fineness of the fleece, the coarse-wool type, so called be- 
cause of the coarse fiber of wool, and the long-wool type, noted 
for the length of the fleece. The coarse-wool and the long-wool 
correspond with the mutton type (Fig. 75). 
THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS OF SHEEP 
Tue Name, Native Home, Cotor or Points, Approximate LENGTH 
or Woo.t, WeiIcHT or FLEECE, AND THE AVERAGE WEIGHT OF 
SHEEP FoR HacH or THE FINE-WooL Breeps 
NAME OF NATIVE CoLor oF LenaTH oF WEIGHT OF WEIGHT OF 
BREED Home Points Woot, In. | Fuesce, Les. Saerep, Lzs. 
American United White 2-24 12-25 100-150 
Merino States 
Delaine United White 3-5 10-20 100-150 
Merino States 
Rambouil- | France White 3-4 10-15 150-185 
let 
321. American Merino fine-wool sheep. — Because this breed 
of sheep has been so vastly improved in America, its native home 
is given as the United States, although it is of Spanish Merino 
origin. The word ‘‘ Merino” means “from over the sea.” In 
Spain, there formerly existed two great groups of sheep, one known 
as Estantes, or stationary, a rather coarse-wooled type; the other 
known as Transhumantes, or migratory, a fine-wooled type, which 
was driven up into the mountains to graze during the summer and 
returned in the fall to their original home. The American Merino 
descended largely from the latter type, although collected from 
