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The merinos are rather smaller than the largest 
sheep we raise on the north of the highlands.—^ 
Those bred at Rambouillet are better made than 
those imported directly from Spain. The belly^ 
cheeks, forehead and hind legs, are covered with 
wool that is short, curled and thick, and tho’ ex¬ 
tremely white when washed, yet brown at the ex¬ 
tremities when on the sheep, particularly if folded 
or kept on any but the cleanest pasture ; this is ow¬ 
ing to the extreme thickness of the wool, which 
encreases the perspiration of the animal, or rather 
perhaps to the greater quantity of greese that the 
wool contains, for in this circumstance it greatly 
differs from common wool, and it is never found 
harsh or dry. The wool on the thigh, which on our 
sheep is harsh and intermixed with hairs, in the 
Spanish sheep is soft and fine. From the thickness 
and evenness of the fleece the sheep is guarded 
against the wet and cold more effectually than our 
sheep, whose fleeces aie looser, and whose bellys 
after the second or third year, are only slightly co¬ 
vered with hairs instead of wool. Mr. Macro ob¬ 
serves that the mobt thrifty sheep throughout the 
winter, are those that have the thickest and most 
even coats. The fleece is entirely free from hair 
which renders other wool harsh, and which never 
takes the die perfectly.—Having procured sam¬ 
ples of all the wool that could be obtained in 
France, together with the improvement made in 
each by crossing the different breeds of sheep 
with Spanish rams, I shall lay them before the 
