200 Animal Husbandry 
a number of provinces, the more important being Paular, Aguirre, 
Negrette, Guadalupe, Escurial, and Infantado. 
During the eighteenth century the Spanish Merino was widely 
distributed, being introduced to Sweden in 1723, to Saxony ‘in 
1765, to Germany in 1768, to France in 1768, to England in 1787, 
to the United States in 1793, and to Australia in 1797. 
In America, improvement began with the importations of Seth 
Adams, in 1801, then of Massachusetts, but later of Ohio; with 
the importations of Colonel David Humphreys of Connecticut in 
1802; with the importations of Robert Livingston of New York 
in the same year; and with the importations of William Jarvis 
of Vermont, who began in 1809 and at different times introduced 
a total of about 4000 Spanish Merinos, which were well distributed 
throughout the eastern states. These men did much to improve 
the Merino, particularly the character and quality of the fleece, 
and to their flocks trace most of the best fine-wool sheep of 
to-day. 
$22. Description of American Merino sheep. — In size, this 
breed ranks medium, with a form typical of fine-wool sheep. The 
head is small, with nose and ears white, and with the rams carrying 
heavy, spirally twisted horns, while the ewes are hornless. The 
neck is thin and of medium length, shoulders sloping, chest nar- 
row but deep, withers thin, back rather narrow, rump often steep, 
thighs thin, and legs small and fine. The skin is an important 
factor and should be bright pink in color. It is often folded about 
the nose, neck, breast, shoulders, lower sides, rump, and thighs 
_ (Figs. 70, 71). 
323. The American Merino fleece. — This is the finest wool 
produced. The more folds on the body and the more crimped the 
fiber, the finer the staple. The fleece covers the entire body except 
the nose, lower third of head, and the ears. It contains much oil 
or yolk, which, if scoured off, may shrink the wool 65 per cent in 
weight. Because of this excess of oil, the wool collects dust, 
giving the outside of the fleece a dirty black color. 
