Merino

“ Sloper entered the Christian ministry; Dodge was elected to the Federal Parliament; and a vague tradition about “a bloke who came up here in the horrors, and drownded poor old O'Grady,” is the only memory that remains of that wonderful creation, the Cast-iron Canvasser.
THE MERINO SHEEP
People have got the impression that the merino is a gentle, bleating animal that gets its living without trouble to anybody, and comes up every year to be shorn with a pleased smile upon its amiable face. It is my purpose here to exhibit the merino sheep in its true light. ”

“ They have all signally failed. The forms, characteristics and qualities of breeds so unlike seem to be incompatible with one another. A cross of the Merino buck and Leicester ewe gives progeny which is of more rapid growth than the Merino alone, and is hardier than the Leicester. It is a good cross for the butchers' use, but not to be perpetuated. Improvement in the Merino should be sought by skillful selection and pairing the parents in view of their relative fitness to one another. ”

“ This curious result seems merely to be an exaggerated tendency natural to the Merino breed, for as a great authority, namely, Lord Somerville, remarks, "the wool of our Merino sheep after shear-time is hard and coarse to such a degree as to render it almost impossible to suppose that the same animal could bear wool so opposite in quality, compared to that which has been clipped from it: as the cold weather advances, the fleeces recover their soft quality." ”

“ At the South, on the contrary—where these disadvantages do not exist to so great an extent, certainly—wool varying from good medium upward are more profitable staples for cultivation than the lower classes; and in that section a high degree of fineness in fleece has been sought in breeding the Merino—the four-pound fine-fleeced Merino having received marked attention. This is a far more profitable animal than the Saxon, other things being equal—which is not the case, since the former is every way a hardier animal and a better nurse ”

“ Just as he spoke there was a splashing in the water, and the twenty rams solemnly swam ashore and ranged themselves in front of him. They were the only survivors of his twenty thousand sheep. He broke down, and was taken to an asylum for insane paupers. The cross-breds had fulfilled their destiny.
The cross-bred drives his owner out of his mind, but the merino ruins his man with greater celerity. Nothing on earth will kill cross-breds; nothing will keep merinos alive. If they are put on dry salt-bush country they die of drought. ”

“ The general principles of breeding cattle and sheep, as laid down by the most approved authorities, must be taken with some exceptions, when applied to the Merino. Good form and feeding qualities are desirable in this breed, but they are not as essential as with the others. Wool is the great object, and if this be sufficiently fine, even, and abundant, something may be abated in the perfection of form. Early maturity, so much sought after in the mutton sheep, cannot be reconciled with the great longevity, and the prolonged productive powers of the Merino. ”

“ The hard, resentful look on the faces of all bushmen comes from a long course of dealing with merino sheep. The merino dominates the bush, and gives to Australian literature its melancholy tinge, its despairing pathos. The poems about dying boundary-riders, and lonely graves under mournful she-oaks, are the direct outcome of the poet's too close association with that soul-destroying animal. A man who could write anything cheerful after a day in the drafting-yards would be a freak of nature. ”

“ The localities in which Merino Sheep can be profitably kept in the United States,
Are wherever the pastures are sweet and dry; the climate not excessively hot; and the land not too valuable for other purposes. Wool is generally the great object in the sheep husbandry of this country, and when sheep farms are remote from the large markets, the Merino will make much the most profitable returns. In the neighborhood of cities, where large and fat sheep and early lambs bear a high price, the mutton sheep may be substituted. ”

“ Holman and Parrish of Salem, Oregon, have this day purchased of us one French buck, "Revenue," which was our first choice in all that lot of bucks, and also two French Merino ewes and four American Merino ewes.
These sheep are thoroughbred and raised in Addison County, Vt., and imported by us direct from Vermont to this state in January and February last.
The French Merinos are the largest fine-wooled sheep in the world. The American capable of producing the most wool from a given area of land. ”

“ Young Merino bought the station, fenced the run and built a "shed,"
Sacked the stockmen, sold the cattle, and put on sheep instead,
But he wasn't built for Queensland, and every blooming year
One hears of "labour troubles" when Merino starts to shear. ”

“ The finest and softest wool as a rule is grown in arid, plateau regions, and of this kind of staple the merino is an example. The fibres are fine as silk, and the goods made from them are softer. The Mission wool of California is the product of merino sheep, and, indeed, the conditions of climate in southern California and Australia are such as to produce the best merino wool. The famous Electoral wool of Saxony is a merino, the sheep having been introduced into that country from Spain about three hundred years ago. ”

“ You have often had to wear a merino frock and merino socks, I dare say; but perhaps you do not know that the fine soft wool of which these are made comes from Spain. It is more interesting to know that there is a tradition which says that the particular breed of sheep from which this wool is taken, came originally from England; their coats improved greatly in quality under the genial climate of Spain, and some people have supposed that the name merino is a corruption of trans marino, because they came from over the sea. ”

“ The quantity produced is nearly equal to that of the Merino flocks when well kept, varying, according to the size and style of breeding, from 3 to 4 lbs. of clean washed wool, which in quality does not differ materially from half-blood Merino, and sometimes rather exceeds it. The larger animals, of course, produce fleeces of much greater weight, sometimes reaching to 8 or 9 lbs. The South Down will subsist on short pasture, but well repays full feeding. It attains early maturity, is hardy and prolific, frequently producing two at a birth. ”

“ The Merino ram, although a quiet animal compared with the common-woolled one, will be tempted to jump, by poor fences, or fences half the time down; and if he is once taught this trick, he becomes very troublesome as the rutting period approaches, unless hoppling, yoking, clogging, or poking is resorted to, either of which causes him to waste his strength, besides being the occasion of frequent accidents. ”

“ A difference of opinion exists in relation to the number of crosses necessary before it is proper to breed from a mongrel ram. Some high authorities assert that it does not admit of the slightest doubt that a Merino, in the fourth generation, from even the worst-woolled ones, is in every respect equal to the stock of the sire—that no difference need to be made in the choice of a ram, whether he is a full-blood, or a fifteen-sixteenths—and that, however coarse the fleece of the parent ewe may have been, the progeny in the fourth generation will not show it. ”

“ Leaving the country of the broad-tailed sheep and passing along the south of Europe, we find in Spain a very important and interesting variety, the Merino sheep. While in the mountains of Spain they are found in the greatest perfection, the breed has spread over many parts of Europe and has been introduced into South Africa, America and Australia. It is noted for the fineness of its wool and is considered by many to be the most profitable of all sheep. ”

“ The full-blooded Leicester is in no respect a hardier sheep than the Merino, though some of its crosses are much hardier than the pure-bred sheep: indeed, it is less hardy, under the most [87] favorable circumstances. It is more subject to colds; its constitution more readily gives way under disease; the lambs are more liable to perish from exposure to cold, when newly dropped. Under unfavorable circumstances—herded in large flocks, famished for feed, or subjected to long journeys—its capacity to endure, and its ability to rally from sad drawbacks, do not compare, with those of the Merino. ”

“ We have many a French Merino here; they belong, though, to quite a different family from the other Merinos. You will find them a much larger sheep, and their wool coarse fibered. They are great eaters, these French Merinos."
"Like me!" cried Donald. [59]
"Verra like you!" agreed Sandy. "But it is no so easy filling them up. Why, they will eat a whole hillside in no time. They can beat you, too, on staying out in all sorts of weather. Here in Idaho we generally have fairly mild winters, so our sheep can be out all the year round. ”

“ The ewe not only frequently produces twin lambs—as do both the Merino and Leicester—but, unlike the latter, she possesses nursing properties to do justice to them. This advantage, however, is fully counterbalanced by the superior longevity of the Merino. All the English mutton breeds begin to rapidly deteriorate in amount of wool, capacity to fatten, and general vigor, at about five years old; and their early maturity is no offset to this, in an animal kept for wool-growing purposes. ”

“ The Saxon Merino differs materially in frame from the Spanish; there is more roundness of carcass and fineness of bone, together with a general form and appearance indicative of a disposition to fatten. Two distinct breeds are noticed. One variety has stouter legs, stouter bodies, head and neck comparatively short and broad, and body round; the wool grows most on the face and legs; the grease in the wool is almost pitchy. The other breed, called Escurial, has longer legs, with a long, spare neck and head ”

“ The first impression made by the Merino sheep on one unacquainted with its value would be unfavorable. The wool lying closer and thicker over the body than in most other breeds, and being abundant in yolk—or a peculiar secretion from the glands of the skin, which nourishes the wool and causes it to mat closely together—is covered with a dirty crust, often full of cracks. The legs are long, yet small in the bone; the breast and the back are narrow, and the sides somewhat flat; the fore-shoulders and bosoms are heavy, and too much of their weight is carried on the coarser parts. ”

“ In docility and patience under confinement, in late maturity and longevity, they resemble the Merinos, from which they are descended; though they do not mature so early as the Merino, nor do they ordinarily live so long. They are poorer nurses; their lambs are smaller, fatter, and far more likely to perish, unless sheltered and carefully watched; they do not fatten so well, and, being considerably lighter, they consume an amount of food considerably less.
Taken together, the American Saxons bear a much finer wool than the American Merinos ”

“ He was especially interested in improving the breeds of sheep, and obtaining finer wool by the introduction of the merino breed. He wrote in 1800 a tract on ‘The Practicability and Advantage of producing in the British Isles Clothing-wool equal to that of Spain,’ and in 1807 an ‘Essay on the Merino Breed of Sheep,’ which obtained a prize from the board of agriculture, and was praised by Arthur Young. ”

“ What sort of sheep should he raise? His cattle and hogs were of good breeds and to have seen to it that it was so he had found profitable. With sheep he was less acquainted. He asked advice. "Get Merinos, by all means," pronounced Henry Wilson, who lived to the north of him. "Get Southdowns and nothing else," said James Remington, who lived to the west. "I'll get twenty [204] of each and experiment with them separately," decided Jason.
Now as between the Merino and the Southdown sheep there is a great gulf fixed. The Merino is small with gnarled horns, wrinkled neck and nose ”

“ Merino was in no better case, and my only hope rested on Mina, who after a series of really brilliant operations, helped out by some lucky escapes, had on the 7th with five thousand men planted himself in ambush behind Vittoria, cut up a Polish regiment, and mastered the same enormous convoy which had escaped the curate and Mendizabal at Burgos, releasing no less than four hundred Spanish prisoners and enriching himself to the tune of a million francs, not to speak of carriages, arms, stores, and a quantity of church plate. ”

“ And as to their increase, the following fact may suffice:—In 1830 there were imported from Germany into the British market alone, 26,073,822 lbs.; while the quantity imported from Spain did not exceed 1,643,515 lbs.
Indeed the Merino seems to improve by every removal from its native soil and climate. Even in England, the climate of which forms a perfect, and to sheep a most severe, contrast with that of Spain, the Merinos not only thrive but improve, both in the carcass and in the quality of their wool. ”

“ Besides, mutton and wool being about an equal consideration with this class, they want larger and earlier maturing breeds. Above all, they want a strong, hardy sheep, which demands no more care than their cattle. The strong, compact, medium-woolled Merino, or, more generally, its crosses with coarse varieties, producing the wool classed as ordinary, is the common favorite. In the Northwest, this is especially the case, where the climate is still worse for delicate sheep. ”