SHEEP. 



fare of many ctntuiies. The pure Tarentine breed in Greece 

 ind Italy being more delicate, is faid to have become extinft 

 with the deltruftion of the Roman empire ; but the mixture 

 of this race with the original flocks of Italy may ftill be 

 diftinftly traced, particularly in the middle and fouthern 

 parts. The Italian wool was finer than that of any other 

 country in Europe, except Spain, prior to the improve- 

 ments which have recently taken place by the introduftion 

 of the Merinos; It is not improbable that the fine-woolled 

 flocks of England, though greatly inferior to the Merinos 

 in the quality of the wool, were alfo originally defcended 

 from erodes with the Tarentine breed introduced by the 

 Romans, when they eltablifhed a manufadiure of woollen 

 cloth at Wincheftcr. 



The deltrudion or deterioration of the improved flocks in 

 the ages of barbarifm which fucceeded the fall of the Roman 

 empire, was the natural confequence of the decay of the ma- 

 nufaAures, and of a total inattention to prevent the inter- 

 mixture with coarfer breeds. In Spain alone, the improved 

 race had taken fuch complete pofFeilion of the mountainous 

 dillritts, that it remained unmixed and unimpaired till the 

 revival of commerce and the arts, when that country fup- 

 plied the neighbouring nations with fine wool, and was fup- 

 pofed to portefs fome peculiar advantages of foil and climate, 

 which it would be vain to feek for elfewhere. The opinion 

 that the fuperior finenefs of the Spanifh fleeces was derived 

 entirely from fome peculiarity of the foil and climate, had 

 obtained fo generally, and was fo firmly believed, even 

 twenty-five years fince, in this country, that he who aflerted 

 the contrary, was regarded by agriculturalilts and clothiers as 

 a fpeculative theorift, only deferving their pity. 



It is not a httle remarkable, that this prejudice continued 

 undiminifhed nearly a century after the Merino flieep had 

 been introduced into Sweden and Saxony, and had conti- 

 nued to produce wool in thofe countries, equally fine with 

 that of their parent flocks in the Spanifli peninfula. 



It might have been previoufly fuppofed that the climate 

 of Sweden, being much colder than that of Great Britain, 

 and more remote from the annual mean temperature of 

 Spain, would render that country peculiarly unfriendly to 

 the Merino race and to the produftion of fine wool. This 

 prejudice refpefting the influence of cHmate would have been 

 removed by confidering that almoft all the fineft furs are the 

 produftion of cold chmates, and that the growth of fine 

 wool and fur is a provifion of nature, to defend animals 

 againft the fevere cold of the diltrias nearer the poles. 

 Mr. Alftroemer, who had previoufly endeavoured to ame- 

 liorate the breed of flieep in Sweden, by importations from 

 England and Germany, obtained a flock of Merinos, which 

 he introduced into that country in the year 1723. In the 

 year 1739, the Swedifh government, for the promotion of 

 this race, inftituted a fchool of fliepherds, under the direc- 

 tion of Mr. Alitroemer, and public funds were appointed 

 for granting premiums to thofe who fold rams of the Spanifli 

 breed; and from the fame period, to 1780, a premium of 

 twenty-five per cent, was alfo granted on the fale of fine 

 wools of a good quality. Thefe premiums were afterwards 

 reduced, and finally difcontinued in 1792, being no longer 

 neccfl'ary. From exaft accounts, it appears that the fine 

 wool fold from 1751 to the year 1790, amounted to 

 3,402,961 francs. 



The quantity of fine wool aftually produced was much 

 greater than what had been fold to receive the premium, a 

 confiderable part having been confumcd in domeltic manu- 

 faftures by the growers and others ; and the diflance of 

 the public magazines, where the wools were fent to receive 

 the premium, prevented the public returns from including 



the real quantity of fine wool grown. In the year 1 764, 

 there were in Sweden 65,369 flieep of the pure Merino race 

 and 23,384 of a mixed breed, producing fine wool. Th^ 

 Swedifli Merinos preferve their primitive form ; their fleecej 

 are very clofe, and the wool has not deteriorated in finenefs 

 length, or elailicity ; and the flieep produce as great a weight 

 of fleece as in Spain, wherever they are fupplied with a fuf- 

 ficient quantity of food. This race, now naturalized in 

 Sweden, are larger and ftronger than the Spanifli flieep. 

 M. Layfteire examined the flock of M. Schulzenheim, at 

 Gronfoe, in the province of Upland, which had been intro- 

 duced from Spain 55 years. On comparing the wool with 

 that of other Spanifli flieep recently imported, he did not 

 find it inferior either in beauty or finenefs. M. Schulzen- 

 heim preferved the defcendants of flieep which he imported 

 from Spain to the fifth generation, and the comparifon of 

 their fleeces proved that they had not in the leaft degenerated. 

 Thefe fafts prove decidedly that the Spanifli flieep do not 

 lofe the good qualities of their wool by a removal to cold 

 countries. At the fame time it muil be obferred, that 

 thofe flieep degenerated which had been neglefted, or treated 

 in the fame wretched manner as the native flocks, by con- 

 fining them in damp, infefted, and dirty ftables during a 

 part of the year, and omitting the requifite quantity of 

 food ; or pafturing them in fummer in forefts and marfties, 

 or in low moift fituations, where they could neither find the 

 proper kind nor due quantity of herbage. 



The mtrodutiion of the Merinos into Saxony took place 

 in 1765, and again in the year 1778. The firft flock con- 

 fiited of one hundred rams and two hundred ewes, chofen 

 for the eleftor of Saxony from the bed flocks in Spain ; they 

 were placed under the care of a Spanifli majorinus, or mayor, 

 at Stolpen, fix leagues from Drefden, on the frontiers of 

 Bohemia. 



After ten years' experience, it was found that they had 

 preferved all the original good qualities of the fleece, and 

 the wool from the mixed breed had alfo acquired a degree of 

 finenefs which did not yield to that from Spain. As foon as 

 it was afcertained, by experience, that it was eafy to natural- 

 ize the Spanifli flieep in Saxony, and that the crofles from 

 this race with the native flocks were fo greatly ameliorated, 

 the attention of the agriculturalills was directed to the gene- 

 ral improvement of the flocks, and fuch has been the fuccefs, 

 that their produce is at prefent one of the greateft fources 

 of profit to the cultivator. During the laft fifteen yearn, a 

 very confiderable quantity of fine wool has been imported 

 from Saxony into England, and the price of the bell fort is 

 greater than that of the fined Spanifli vrool, a fufficient 

 proof of the eft:imation in which it is held by the manufac- 

 turers. It is better fuited for the fineft kerfeymeres, and the 

 more delicate articles of the woollen trade, as it can be fpun 

 to a greater length than any other kind of carded wool 

 grown in Europe ; it is alfo fuperior in finenefs, but owing 

 to the fcarcity of winter food, it is generally lefs found than 

 the belt Spanifli, and not fo well fuited for flout cloths. 

 See Wool. 



The Merino race has fince been introduced into Denmark, 

 the Prufllan flates, Auflria, France, Holland, Italy, the 

 Cape of Good Hope, and the United States of America. 

 Of its introduftion into England, we fliall afterwards 

 fpeak. 



As Saxony is the only country which has yet cultivated 

 the Merinos fo extenfivcly, as to come in competition with 

 Spain in the exportation of fine wool, it may be proper to 

 ilate the modes of treatment adopted in that country. It 

 is generally believed in Saxony, and in other psrts of Germany 

 and Holland, that the praftice of breeding from the fame 



race 



