THE MERINOS OF GREAT BRITAIN, PAST AND PRESENT.

North Otago Times, Volume II, Issue 29, 8 September 1864, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE MERINOS OF GREAT BRITAIN, PAST AND PRESENT.

The following interesting partieulars respecting Merino sheep, are taken from Youatt's well-known work on Sheep : — En. land was late in attempting to naturalise the Spanish sheep, or to improve her own breed by an intermixture with them. There was some excuse for this — for she already possessed a clothing wool equal or superior to that of any other sheep except those of Spain ; aad her maritime habits and the extent of her commerce gave her easy access to the finer wools, far less necessary to the manufacturer at that period than fashion has now made them ; at the same time, her native combing wool was perfectly unrivalled. A few Merino sheep, however, were introduced here and there ; but they had much prejudice to contend with, and their value was not duly appreciated. The monarch who, at the close of the 18th century, swayed the sceptre of Great Britain, was an ardent agriculturist, and he determined to give this celebrated breed of sheep a fair trial on his own farms. In the year 1787, measures were taken for the collection and importation of a little flock of Merinos. These were collected in Estremadura, on the borders of Portugal — a few from one flock, and a few from another. It was a kind of smuggling transaction ; and as they could not be shipped from any Spanish port without a license from the King of Spain, they were driven through Portugal, and embarked at Lisbon, landed at Portsmouth, and thence condncted to the king's farm at Kew. They did not please the royal adventurer. Hastily selected, or obtained as they could be from various proprietors and various districts, there was no uniformity about them ; they could not be said fairly to exhibit the true nharncter of their breed, nor was it safe to make tiny experiment with them. It was then determined to make direct application to the Spanish monarch for permission to select some sheep from one of the best flocks. This was liberally and promptly granted ; and a little flock was draughted, of the Negrette breed, the most valuable of the migratory flocks, and the exportation of which was expressly prohibited by law. They arrived in England in 1791, and were immediately transferred to Kew ; the sheep previously imported were destroyed, or otherwise disposed of, and the experiment of the naturalisation of the Merinos, and the crossing of them with the British sheep, may be then said to have commenced. The management of these newly-imported flocks does not seem, at first, to have been very skilfully conducted. They were placed on a moist and, perhaps, too luxuriant soil, and they became affected with the foot rot ; and in some situations, to a fearful extent, their numbers were thinned by the liver rot. This was, by those who were prejudiced against them, said to be the fault of the sheep ; but a little change in the pasture showed that it was altogether attributable to the carelessness of the shepherd. The first winter had scarcely passed ere they were acknowledged by impartial observers to be perfectly naturalised. They were as free from disease as the best of the British flocks. Their wool was unaffected by the change of climate. The product of the second and third shearings was compared with the best samples of the imported Spanish wool, and it yielded not to them in fineness or felting quality. Many a year afterwards the experiment was repeated, and with the same success. The subsequent progress of the new importation is thus sketched by the same writer : — It was thirteen years after the arrival of the Negretto flock ere they had been able to establish themselves iu the good opinion of a sufficient number of agriculturists to render it prudent to expose them for sale by public auction. In 1804, the first sale took place. It was attended by the friends of the Merinos, and by others, who, led thither by curiosity, were induced to become purchasers. One of the rams sold for 42 guineas, and two of the ewes for 1 1 guineas each. The average price of the rams was £19 4s.; and that of the ewes, £8 15s. 6d. each. At the second sale, in August, 1 805, seventeen rams and twenty-one ewes were sold for £1148 14s., being at the average of rather more than £30 each. In 1818, the highest price given for a rara was £74 17b. The average price of rams was £33 10s. ; and that of ewes, £23 10s. 6d. The Merinos might now be considered as, to a certain degree, established in public favor. They, with common management, still retained their fleece as heavy and as fine as when first imported ; and, whatever breed they crossed, the uniform result was improvement, both in the weight and fineness of the wool, with some, but not proportionate, loss of carcase. They were more and more eagerly sought after, and expei-iemented with ; and in the sale of 1810, 33 rams sold for £1920 9s , being on an average more than £58 each. One full-mouthed Negrette ram was sold to Colonel Sea rle for 173 guineas ; one for 134 guineas to Sir Home Popham ; one for 116 guineas to Mr Gale ; one for 105 guineas to Mr Sumner ; and one for 101 guineas to Mr Wools. Of the ewes, a fullmouthed Negrette was sold to the last mentioned gentleman for 70 guineas, and two pair Paular ones for 61 guineas each, and a third for 65 guineas. One Paular was disposed of to Mr Down for 92 giuneas. and another to Mr Willis for 60 guineas ; 70 of them were sold in the whole, and they fetched on an average £37 10s. per head. After some years the remnant of the royal flock fell into the hands of the Messrs Sturgeon, of Gray's, Essex, who have since bred them pure with the greatest spirit and judgement. The following description of their sheep has been forwarded to us : — " A ' Sturgeon ' ram (1864) is of pure Negrette blood — larger than a German, and with features identical with the best ; face of a beautiful stamp, covered to the tip of the nose, and with legs wooled to the feet ; in fact the entire surface is covered. In constitution, robustness, and form, in right of his English breeding, he is superior to his continental brother. Is in his fleece, now, as thick and fibre as fine as the best sorts of German, and thicker and finer than most weight about

lOlbs. Ho is bred from pure ewes, the descendants of the imported Negrettes of George III., robust, well-eonstitutioned, and developed by English climate and pasturage, on the one side, and on the other from aran the best that could be found on twice looking; the continent over, and which bore favorably a comparison with one sold at the inters national in 1862 for £400. The Messrs Sturgeon are very well pleased to show their sheep."