THE AMERICAN MERINO 503 



formation throughout") j-Jg^ inch. Dr. William McMurtrie, who 

 conducted extensive investigations on wool for the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, gives the average diameter of Merino 

 wool at i^gj inch ; the Southdown, ^l-g- ; the Lincoln, g-^-g- ; and 

 the Cotswold, ^l-^ inch. 



The crimp and elasticity of Merino wool is of the first class, 

 and the crimp is especially characteristic of this fiber. This is 

 shown in minute waves or serrations in the fiber. Hawkes- 

 worth states that in a superior Merino wool there are 24 to 30 

 crimps to the inch and sometimes more. In the English breeds 

 the Southdown, which is the finest, contains 14 to 18 crimps 

 to the inch and the Lincoln 2 to 3. The crimp is an index 

 to the elasticity of the fiber, its tensile strength, and quality. 

 Hawkesworth says : 



The Merino wool fiber possesses an elasticity of quite a peculiar kind alto- 

 gether, that of crimpling. If you break a fiber of the true Merino in two pieces, 

 they not only take their own natural form which they possessed before, but go 

 far beyond that, inasmuch as the curves formed by this broken fiber shrink 

 much closer than they were before. The closer the crimps of a marrowless 

 fiber, and the greater the elasticity and extensibility, the more powerful will be 

 its crimpling in the above-described wool fiber ; science has not accounted for 

 it yet, and all explanations concerning the same are only hypotheses. The 

 quality of the Merino wool is greatly valued by the clothing manufacturers. 



The mutton qualities of the American Merino are inferior. 

 These sheep are muscular in type, carry but little fat, and when 

 pure-bred are of but secondary importance as mutton. 



The crossbred or grade Merino is not improved for wool pro- 

 duction, but by mating with middle-wool blood a better mutton 

 sheep is produced, though shearing less wool and being less 

 hardy. Sheep of the Delaine type are more or less bred to 

 the American type, thus reducing the folds but not seriously 

 affecting the wool-producing value. In Australia for many years 

 the American type was preferred to the smooth-bodied Merino, 

 but in recent years the reverse is the case. In order, however, 

 to maintain high-shearing qualities, studs of American Merinos 

 must be maintained to thicken up the fleece of the smoother sort 

 and keep up the weight. In New Zealand the Romney Marsh 



and Merino are crossed extensively, the crossbred withstanding. 

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