FINE WOOL SITEEP HUSBANDRY. 13 
ages three inches over the carcass. I never yet saw 
or heard of one. 
The fleece of the Spanish Merino was exceedingly 
dense, level on the surface, uniform as between ani- 
mals of the same family, and even in quality in the 
individual. The sheep of the Escurial cabana were 
destitute of external “gum” (indurated yolk), and 
therefore quite light colored. Most of the celebrated 
flocks, however, had more of it, and were more or less 
dark—some as dark as the wnhoused Merinos of the 
present day. The wool was free from indurated yolk 
within, and it opened with a fine lustre and the other 
general characteristics which still distinguish the 
breed. " 
Gilbert, a French writer of great reputation, stated 
in a report to the National Institute of France, in 
1796, that “all the wool of Spain he had examined, 
not excepting the prime Leonese, the most esteemed 
of any, appeared to contain much more jar than that 
of Rambouillet.” This would imply that the best 
wools of Spain exhibited this defect,* but Gilbert 
says “they pretend the best of the Spanish wool is 
not imported into France.” 
The weight of the Spanish fleeces was placed by 
Livingston at eight and a half Ibs. in the ram, and five 
Ibs. in the ewe, which he stated lost half in washing. 
Youatt gives the average weight of the ram’s fleece 
* There has been some confusion as to the use of the term “jar” in 
our country. I think the foreign writers do not mean by it that 
firmly rooted hair which projects from the wool on the thighs, necks, 
&e., of some sheep, but that sharp-pointed, shining hair which is found 
detached from the skin within the fleece, and usually much shorter than 
the wool. It becomes detached when the wool has partly grown. 
