THE EUMINANT OEDEE. 263 



the production of milk, as in the department of Avej'ron, and 

 chiefly in the district of which the village of Roquefoft is the 

 centre. In its environs more than two hundred thousand milking 

 ewes are kept. The basis of these cheeses is the curdled milk, in 

 which is mixed and kneaded a small quantity of mouldy bread 

 reduced to powder. These cheeses undergo various oiieratious, 

 upon which we shall not now dwell, which, however, give them 

 their flavour and special qualities. 



The most valuable commodities which are produced by Sheep, 

 both in a manufacturing and agricultural point of view, may be 

 summed up as wool and meat. In order to supph^ these two 

 products in perfection, it is necessary that the animal should present 

 a certain type of conformation. 



We shall carefully examine the various varieties of Sheep ; but 

 before entering upon this subject we will say a few words as to 

 the origin, structure, and qualities of their wool, and the harvest 

 of the fleece. 



The Sheep's skin produces, in a wild state, two capillary 

 substances : one, stiff and straight, which is called hair, and is 

 the most abundant ; the other, waving or curled, which is called 

 wool, and is the most scanty. In a domesticated state, how- 

 ever, these proportions are reversed ; it is the wool which is the 

 most plentiful and constitutes the fleece. Under all the efforts of 

 culture the stiff hair tends more and more to decrease. The fleece 

 is composed of a collection of locks or slivers, and the locks of a 

 collection of the stctple, or hairy fibres. 



The staple is composed of tubes fitted together, which are only 

 visible in the miscroscope ; their diameter is variable, for which 

 reason it is divided into extra flnc, fine, middliDg, common, and 

 coarse. Such staple as is equal throughout in diameter, if straight, 

 is much valued; when it is flexuous, the wool is called icavy ; and 

 when the flexions are very close together, it is pronounced curh/. 

 This last characteristic appears to belong more particularly to the 

 Merino breed. 



The desiderata sought for in wool are flexihility, meUowness, and 

 softness ; these properties enable the staple to preserve the quali- 

 ties which are communicated to it, for then the wool will work or 

 felt much more easily, and imparts to the woven fabric the 

 softness and mellowness to the touch which is so much valued. 



