494 



SHEEP 



French Merinos, or Rambouillets, were imported from Spain to 

 France in 1786 by government commission. This type is dis- 

 cussed by itself in Chapter XLVI. 



English Merinos. About 1787, during the reign of George III, 

 the "farmer king," a small flock of mixed Merinos was smuggled 

 from Spain through Portugal and taken to England. These were 

 inferior, so in 1791, at the request of the king, a select lot of 

 Negretti sheep, consisting of four rams and thirty-six ewes, were 



Fig. 220. A Wanganella ram sold in the annual ram sale at Sydney, New South 

 Wales, in July, 1918, for $13,125. This represents a very fashionable line of 

 breeding in Australia. P'rom photograph, by courtesy of the American Sheep Breeder 



collected by one of the Spanish nobility and presented to the 

 king. These arrived in England in good shape, but did poorly 

 at first. Not being suited to the moist climate and rich pastures, 

 they suffered much from disease and especially foot rot. They 

 gradually became acclimated and thrived fairly well. A society 

 was organized in 1 8 1 1 to promote them, but the small size of 

 this sheep and its inferior mutton quality caused British farmers 

 gradually to give them up. At the present day there are no 

 Merino flocks in England. 



The Australian Merino. Late in the eighteenth century a few 

 Merinos had been taken to Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, 



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