270 
MAMMALIA. 
about tbe beginning of tbe month of April, and they are shorn 
during their journey. The establishments devoted to this opera- 
tion are so well managed that a flock consisting of one thousand 
head of sheep can be disburdened of their valuable covering in oue 
day. They arrive at their destination at the end of the month of 
May or the beginning of June, and remain there till September, 
when they repair again to their winter quarters. 
The Merino sheep is, so to speak, a cosmopolitan animal, and 
may be met with in the most widely-divided latitudes, for it has 
been introduced into Germany, France, the English colonies at the 
Cape of Good Hope, Australia, Canada, and the United States of 
America. 
The definitive introduction of this breed into France dates from 
the year 1766, when Daubenton brought from Spain a flock which 
Fig. 101. — Merino Breed of Mauohamp (Ram). 
he placed in his domain at Montbard, between Chatillon-sur- 
Seine and Semur (Cote-d’Or). This undoubtedly was the original 
stock of all the Merinos at present to be found in Burgundy. In 
1786 Louis XYI. founded the celebrated Sheep establishment at 
Bambouillet, from where the breed of Merinos has been spread 
most extensively. 
Having been subjected to various conditions, both of food and 
climate, this breed has been broken up into varieties, which have 
caused them to be distinguished under the names of Merinos of 
Bambouillet (Fig. 100), of Beauce, of Brie, of Soissonnais, of 
Champagne, of Burgundy, and of Mauchamp (Fig. 101), specially 
deserving of notice for their silky wool. 
