FINE WOOL SHEEP. 
99 
right as circumstances and a prudent and economi¬ 
cal outlay of capital will permit, and then with 
the use of pure bred, unadulterated Merino bucks, 
they may go on in the broad road of improvement, 
and be annually increasing the value of their flocks, 
raising the standard of quantity as well as quality 
of the wool produced, and thus adding greatly to 
the incomes of the sheep husbandmen. 
Among those pure bred flocks from which bucks 
may be chosen, with a view of effecting this im¬ 
portant purpose, that undoubtedly superior to all 
others, within our knowledge, in the United States, 
is possessed by Mr. D. C. Collins of Hartford, Con¬ 
necticut. Travelling in Europe in the year 1839, and 
having his eye occasionally upon its agriculture and 
improved stocks, among other things, this gentle¬ 
man was struck with the marked superiority of 
the Spanish Merino, composing the celebrated 
royal flocks kept at Rambouillet, in- France, about 
40 miles from Paris. He accordingly determined 
to procure a small breeding flock, with a view of 
raising bucks to restore the fine woolled sheep of 
our country to their original character for strength 
of constitution, and weight of fleece, together with 
excellence of quality. The following year he ob¬ 
tained two bucks, and twenty ewes, from the best 
of the Rambouillet flock, and brought them over 
to this country. These he has continued to breed 
here with great success, and has now a fine flock 
of their produce, fully equal to the original impor¬ 
tation. 
On p. 171, Vol. I. of the Agriculturist, we gave 
a short notice of these animals; but the subject of 
the production of fine wool in our country seems at 
present to be so important, that we have thought 
we could not do our readers a greater service than 
bringing the matter up again for their serious con¬ 
sideration. Understanding, therefore, that Mr. 
Collins intended shearing his flock on the 15th of 
last month, we started for Hartford, and arrived 
there on the morning of the day previous for the 
purpose of inspecting them in full fleece, and then 
in their naked forms, as also some flocks alongside 
of them, of what may now be termed theffnative 
Merino. Altogether we spent three days in our 
examination, taking samples of the wool, weigh¬ 
ing the animals and their fleeces, and studying 
their forms, from the lambs just dropped, up to 
the full grown sheep of a mature age. The result 
of our observations, and the information we obtain¬ 
ed, with respect to these Spanish Merinos from 
the Royal flocks of Rambouillet, and the produce 
Dred from them in this country, is:— 
1. They possess as good constitutions, and are 
I as thrifty and as hardy as any native or imported 
sheep whatever. 
2. They attain a great age, have been known to 
reach 20 years, and may be depended upon as good 
breeders and wool producers till 12 to 14 years 
old. 
3. They have large, loose skins, full of folds, es¬ 
pecially around the neck and below it, on the 
shoulders, and not unfrequently over the whole 
body; the wool thickly covering its surface, the 
forehead, cheeks, and the legs clear down to the 
hoofs, giving the fleece the appearance when shorn 
and spread out in its ample dimensions, of having 
been taken from the carcass of a huge buffalo, 
rather than so small an animal as the domestic 
sheep. 
4. The fibre of the wool is very fine, quite equal 
to the best Merino in Spain, and is the very antip¬ 
odes of that of which so much complaint is made 
by the manufacturer, of being harsh, dry, crispy, 
and wiry. The fleece opens of a brilliant creamy 
color within, on a skin of rich pink, and is soft, 
glossy, wavy, and very even over the whole body} 
is exceedingly close and compact, and has a yolk 
free from gum, and easily liberated when it comes 
to be washed, but which protects the wool from 
the weather, and keeps it free of the dead ends 
that are so objectionable, and that make so great a 
loss in the more open fleeces of the Saxons and 
their crosses. It becomes of the purest white 
when scoured by the manufacturer, and still re¬ 
tains its mellow, oily touch, so grateful to the 
handling of good judges. Its felting properties are 
beyond dispute, making it a choice material for the 
manufacture of fine broadcloths and cassimeres. 
We are tolerably familiar with the Merinos im¬ 
ported direct from Spain, and the subsequent breed¬ 
ing in the United States, and we find the distin¬ 
guishing superiority of the Rambouillets over them, 
is in the size of their skins, enabling them to cut a 
greater proportion of wool. In their form they re¬ 
semble the Paular Merinos, more than any other 
tribe of Spanish sheep that have fallen under our 
observation. They are also from one tenth to one 
fifth larger in carcass; are equally thrifty, hardy, 
and long-lived ; give more wool for their size, and 
of a better quality; and upon the whole, present a 
grander and more noble appearance. It is not 
contended that the Merinos of any tribe have the 
finished, full round forms of the English mutton 
sheep. They have been bred for other purposes. 
Their flesh is reasonably good when made weth¬ 
ers, and killed at a suitable age, and their forms 
are susceptible of improvement, for in this particu- 
