AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
FOK THE 
Farm, GrarcLen, aacL LA o 11 selt o 1 d. 
“AGRICULTURE IS T11E MOST HEALTHFUL, MOST USEFUL, ANI> MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN.’MT 
ASlItNGTO'N. 
OKANGE JITDD & c«„ j ' ESTABLISHED IN 1842. j 45KS 
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in December, lSli, by Orange Judd & Co., at the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
VOLUME XXXI.—No. 1. 
NEW YORK, JANUARY, 1872. 
NEW SERIES—No. 300. 
The various kinds of fine-woolecl or Merino 
sheep are descended from the Spanish Merinos. 
For centuries the flocks of Spain were celebrated 
for the quality of their wool, and several farai- 
s or sub-breeds were well known and had dis¬ 
tinct characteristics. Among the noted of these 
families were the Infantado, Paular, Estrama- 
dura, and Negretti. Before the invasion of-tlie 
French these flocks were kept up with great 
cate, and bred with a view to develop their 
peculiar excellencies. War, in Spain, as else¬ 
where, made havoc with agricultural pursuits, 
and these celebrated flocks either went to fur 
nish the commissariat of one or the other army, 
or were so broken up that their high character 
was lost. Fortunately examples of the leading 
families had previously been sent to England, 
Saxony, Silesia, and other European countries, 
as well as to America, and now the once cele¬ 
brated Spanish sheep are found in greater per¬ 
fection elsewhere than in Spain. It is chi .ned 
that the Negretti sheep, while thc} r arc lost 
in Spain, have been continued in their purity in 
Germany; but it is highly probable that these 
as well as other families have been essentially 
modified and improved. The experience in 
this country with Merinos shows how careful 
breeding will change the characteristics of 
sheep. Besides this, climate has an effect upon 
wool to such an extent that even in the limited 
area of England certain breeds will only retain 
their characteristics when kept in particular 
localities. These sheep shear from four to 
six pounds of the finest wool. Their faces 
are covered with wool to a remarkable extent, 
and the legs are clothed quite down to the toes. 
