Merino Sheep.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2063, 26 September 1885, Page 6 (Supplement)

Merino Sheep.

Th« celebrated breeder of M. rlno ?hecp. M. Gilbert, of Wxlevilk-, in France, has l%t«-lj received tho vpry dibtirguisbin^ honor of the Croia of the Legion of Honor for his unwearied industry in promo ii rj|z tbe imjrove mini of this r»oe of shetp, wui«h, popular as it it in Franoe and other foreign eountnoi, is comparatively unknown in England. It Is chiefly to Frano«, and, ind*«d, to the flook of H. Gilbert, that breeder* o( tlio variety in Boutb America, Capo of Good Hope, Russia, and Auitralia come for some of the best specimen* of th« brsed, paying high prioes, and using them in their respective oountries with th« greatest luecaM. A ram from WideTillt was reeontly exportod to Buanft Ayres, whleh realUid £180. Thin, which exhibited at tht Amsterdam exhibition, irai SO month* old, and weighed 371 lb*. At 18 month* it had clipped 21 lbs. Two ewes, which were also shown at Amsterdam, and weighed 900 lb». and lOC lba. respectively, had dipped 84 lbs. between them, these being 80 months old, and rotniued by their owner for the preservation of his Rtock. It appears that it *-»s in 1756 when the Merino ihsep wan first in'roducod in tho distritta round P*rii, 864 aninjala being imported from Spain ftrom the vpry bc*t floohe, The Moond importation wai in 1706, and couprlied 40 h^nd, th« other rama and ewea being diipo^ed of to agriculturiatd who bad engaged with the State to tn.hr> th^ra, bat It wftt not until theyoar ISO 2 that M. Gilbert, the grandfather of tho present breeder of 'Widttulfl, oommtnesd to breod Merino* and, M it proved, nndtr his deoendtints for two generations coLbrated for their production. The teoonf M. Gilbert, who, from his in Defiant activity and thftk&owtodgeand sound viewi he obtftined from tha scbtol of Pennomort, wai soon plao«d ia the fir*t ranlc of KfdeaUarlits, and \ro>* not loog in becoming the peiMfior of a flock which were remarkable for their lizc, height, leugtt), and abundutM of wool ; and it wan these aheap which, after tho Exhibition of 1567, won for their ikea owner the Cross of the Legion of Honor. In lift tha prewnt M, Gilbert succeeded to tke managemtot of thefloctr, and, as a fitting reward f«r hi* labors, has received, as already ■tatei, a limilar distinction. TLe remarkable aniaial* whieb he has exhibited at the exhikitioni In London, Stettin, Vienna, Sydney, Farfi, and Amsterdam would aeem to indioate that they have arrived at their snproroo point of perfefltion. They bio not, however, dis tingoiahid for their round forms find great prteoolty, but, Bays M. Gustavc Ueuze in the Journal d' Agriculhtre Pratiqvr, thoy differ frem the Merinos and mongrel ep^ciijaens of the breed which are met with in noith, southwnt, aad eoutb of France hy tboir height and length, and the quality and abundance of wool. They have a particular uniformity which ii due to the length and size of their body, to the regularity of their breathing, the beauty and size of two dewlaps, and the ftbandftnoe of their wool, which almost completely envelops the head, and which moreover ■eseends in this style right down to the knees. M. Gilbert, judging from hi* eucoess, may well follow in the paths already trodden by his ancestors, and prodneo a cheep which eviiißtly baa a great future before in. The two ram* and the two ewes shown at the exhibition referred to have been awarded two first prizes and the gold medal offered by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, over whioh the latter triumph M. Heuz6 in enthueriMtio. — J.L. in the Live Stock Journal,