Animal products; . nd has producedthe highly valued Merino breed. It has been supposed that thefemale has more influence than the male on the bodily form of an c 18 FOREIGN BREEDS—THE MERINO ES. animal; but the male, in sheep particularly, has been found togive the peculiar character to the fleece. The produce of a breedfrom a coarse-woolled ewe and fine-woolled ram will yield a fleecediffering only one-fourth from that of the sire. By proceeding inthe opposite direction, the wool would rapidly degenerate into itsprimitive coarseness. Great care must therefore be taken toexclude from a breedin
Animal products; . nd has producedthe highly valued Merino breed. It has been supposed that thefemale has more influence than the male on the bodily form of an c 18 FOREIGN BREEDS—THE MERINO ES. animal; but the male, in sheep particularly, has been found togive the peculiar character to the fleece. The produce of a breedfrom a coarse-woolled ewe and fine-woolled ram will yield a fleecediffering only one-fourth from that of the sire. By proceeding inthe opposite direction, the wool would rapidly degenerate into itsprimitive coarseness. Great care must therefore be taken toexclude from a breeding flock any accidental varieties of coarse-woolled rams. Immense services were rendered by the introduction ot theSpanish sheep into England,* and in former times the sheep ofNorthern Africa into Spain. This excellence of the Merino con-sists in the unexampled fineness and felting property of its wool,which in fineness and in the number of imbrications and curvesexceeds that of any other sheep the world SPANISH MERINO WOOL. The thorough bred Negretti sheep takes a high and importantposition among the Merino breed. It has a deep built barrel-likebody, powerful short legs, and compactly grown wool on the bodyand legs. As wool is the principal object in Germany, the wethers arekept to ten and even thirteen years old, and they are then turnedinto inferior mutton. The sheep are housed in stables every * In Case 61 are samples of the early products of Merino wool and yarn inthis country in 1812 and 1829. FOREIGN BREEDS—THE MERINOES. 19 night, and carefully guarded in the daytime from the rain. Shear-ing takes place in May, and is done by women, who shear in ashearing house with strong scissors. Washing is very carefullyattended to, and is done in cold or in hot water. In cold washingthey are dipped two or three times, and then allowed to stand andsweat to soften the dirt. They are then rubbed with the hand•and passed through clean water. In hot washing they are first
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