11 
one of the objects of the Acclimatisation Society ought to he 
directed to this important point. 
In the wild sheep, the woolly variety of hair is developed in 
excess, and in the domesticated races the fleece has been modi¬ 
fied and improved in various degrees, by crossing the breeds, by 
choice of climate and pasturage, and by careful attention and 
defence during its growth, until not only has the original coarse 
character of the product disappeared, but qualities of wool of 
various kinds and of different degrees of superiority have been 
obtained, generally divisible into two classes, one better adapted 
for “ carding,” the other for “ combing,” and both available for a 
great variety of useful and elegant textile fabrics. 
Idle primitive fleece of the sheep was, no doubt, a mixture of 
hair and wool, and the effects of climate, cross-breeding, and 
careful attention, have developed the character of the wool. The 
Merino sheep of Spain (a race originally imported from England), 
and the flocks in this colony are pre-eminent as wool-bearers. It 
is probable that in the early ages of man’s history the shepherds 
may have selected for breeding those individuals on which the 
wool predominated, and that by following up this system, aided 
by excessive care, the sheep gradually attained its present 
condition, so that a wool-bearing breed became at length per¬ 
manently established. 
In the Great Exhibition of 1851, among the wools shown in 
the French department was one " of singular and peculiar 
properties, the hair glossy and silky, similar to mohair, retaining 
at the same time certain properties of the Merino breed of sheep.” 
This was known as the Maucliamp variety, and the produce of a 
peculiar variety of the Merino breed of sheep. The report 
of that department states that an inquiry was held, not only 
of its commercial value and application, but into the particulars 
of the production of this new kind of wool. It was found 
to be one of the very few instances in which the origina¬ 
tion of a distinct variety of a domestic quadruped could be 
satisfactorily traced, with all the circumstances attending its 
development well authenticated. In the year 1828, one of the 
ewes of the flock of Merinos in the farm of Mauchamp produced 
a male larub, which, as it grew up, became remarkable for the 
long, smooth, straight, and silky character of the fibre of the 
wool, and for the smoothness of its horns. It was of small size, 
and presented certain defects in its conformation which have 
disappeared in its descendants. In 1829, M. Graux, the pro¬ 
prietor of the farm, employed this ram with a view of obtaining 
