![Merino sheep](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Merino_sheep.png)
The Merino is a
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
or group of breeds of
domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
. It was established in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
near the end of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed were not allowed, and those who tried risked the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
. During the eighteenth century, flocks were sent to the courts of a number of European countries, including France (where they developed into the
Rambouillet
Rambouillet (, , ) is a subprefecture of the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its centre. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,933.
Rambouillet lies ...
), Hungary, the Netherlands,
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
,
Livonia and Sweden. The Merino subsequently spread to many parts of the world, including South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Numerous recognised breeds, strains and variants have developed from the original type; these include, among others, the American Merino and
Delaine Merino
The Delaine Merino is a type of Merino sheep predominant in North America. It has fewer skin wrinkles than some types of Merino, but still has a fine, oily fleece that extends through the legs. They are hardy and long–lived, with an ability ...
in the Americas, the
Australian Merino
The Australian Merino is an Australian breed or group of breeds of sheep, forming a significant part of the Merino group of breeds. Its origins lie in Merino sheep imported to Australia from South Africa in about 1796. By about 1830 there we ...
,
Booroola Merino
The Booroola is a Merino strain that has a high rate of multiple births.
Booroola's prolificacy was studied extensively by New Zealand researchers, who provided one of the first examples of the practical application of gene mapping in sheep, by ma ...
and
Peppin Merino
The Peppin Merino is a breed of Merino sheep raised for their wool, mostly in Australia. So important is the Peppin Merino that wool producers throughout Australia often classify their sheep simply as being either Peppin, or non-Peppin.
Peppin ...
in Oceania, the
Gentile di Puglia
The Gentile di Puglia is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to southern Italy. It originates from the Tavoliere di Foggia, a large plain in the northern part of Puglia, and is raised mainly in that region; a few are found in neighbouring reg ...
,
Merinolandschaf and Rambouillet in Europe.
The Australian
Poll Merino
The Poll Merino is a subtype of the Australian Merino breed of domestic sheep, without horns, that was developed in Australia.
Characteristics
These sheep are early maturing, large framed and relatively plain bodied, producing a fleece which is ...
is a
polled (hornless) variant. Rams of other Merino breeds have long, spiral horns which grow close to the head, while ewes are usually hornless.
History
Etymology
The name ''merino'' was not documented in Spain until the early 15th century, and its origin is disputed.
Two suggested origins for the Spanish word ''merino'' are given in:
*It may be an adaptation to the sheep of the name of a
Leonese official inspector (''merino'') over a ''
merindad'', who may have also inspected sheep pastures. This word is from the medieval Latin ''maiorinus'', a steward or head official of a village, from ''
maior'', meaning "greater". However, there is no indication in any of the Leonese or Castilian law codes that this official, either named as ''maiorinus'' or ''merino'' had any duties connected with sheep, and the late date at which ''merino'' was first documented makes any connection with the name of an early mediaeval magistrate implausible.
*It also may be from the name of an Imazighen tribe, the ''
Marini'' (or in
Spanish, ''Benimerines''), who occupied parts of the southwest of the
Iberian peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
during the 12th and 13th centuries. This view gains some support from the derivation of many mediaeval Spanish pastoral terms from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
or
Berber languages
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...
. However, an etymology based on a 12th-century origin for Merino sheep when the Marinids were in Spain is unacceptable; the origin of the breed occurred much later.
Origin
The three theories of the origins of the Merino breed in Spain are: the importation of north African flocks in the 12th century; its origin and improvement in
Extremadura in the 12th and 13th centuries; the selective
crossbreed
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
ing of Spanish ewes with imported rams at several different periods, so that its characteristic fine wool was not fully developed until the 15th century or even later. The first theory accepts that the breed was improved by later importation of north African rams and the second accepts an initial stock of north African sheep related to types from
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, and both claim an early date and largely north African origin for the merino breed.
Sheep were relatively unimportant in the Islamic
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and parts o ...
, and there is no record of extensive
transhumance
Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...
before the caliphate's fall in the 1030s. The Marinids, when a nomadic
Zenata
The Zenata (Berber language: Iznaten) are a group of Amazigh (Berber) tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic.
Etymology
''Iznaten (ⵉ ...
Berber tribe, held extensive sheep flocks in what is now Morocco, and its leaders who formed the
Marinid Sultanate militarily intervened in southern Spain, supporting the
Emirate of Granada
The Emirate of Granada ( ar, إمارة غرﻧﺎﻃﺔ, Imārat Ġarnāṭah), also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada ( es, Reino Nazarí de Granada), was an Emirate, Islamic realm in southern Iberia during the Late Middle Ages. It was the ...
several times in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Although they may possibly have brought new breeds of sheep into Spain, there is no definite evidence that the Marinids did bring extensive flocks to Spain. As the Marinids arrived as an intervening military force, they were hardly in a position to protect extensive flocks and practice selective breeding.
The third theory, that the Merino breed was created in Spain over several centuries with a strong Spanish heritage, rather than simply being an existing north African strain that was imported in the 12th century, is supported both by recent genetic studies and the absence of definitely merino wool before the 15th century. The predominant native sheep breed in Spain from pre-Roman times was the
churro
A churro (, ) is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine. They are also found in Latin American cuisine and in other areas that have received immigration from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in the Sou ...
, a homogeneous group closely related to European sheep types north of the Pyrenees and bred mainly for meat and milk, with coarse, coloured wool. Churro wool had little value, except where its ewes had been crossed with a fine wool breed from southern Italy in Roman times. Genetic studies have shown that the Merino breed most probably developed by the crossing of churro ewes with a variety of rams of other breeds at different periods, including Italian rams in Roman times, north African rams in the mediaeval period, and English rams from fine-wool breeds in the 15th century.
Although Spain exported wool to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in the 13th and 14th centuries this was only used to make cheap cloths. The earliest evidence of fine Spanish wool exports were to Italy in the 1390s and
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
in the 1420s, although in both cases fine English wool was preferred. Spain became noted for its fine wool (
spinning count between 60s and 64s) in the late 15th century, and by the mid-16th century its merino wool was acknowledged to equal that of the finest English wools.
The earliest documentary evidence for merino wools in Italy dates to the 1400s, and in the 1420s and 1430s, merino wools were being mixed with fine English wool in some towns in the Low Countries to produce high quality cloth. However, it was only in the mid-16th century that the most expensive grades of cloth could be made entirely from merino wool, after its quality had improved to equal that of the finest English wools, which were in increasingly short supply at that time.
Preserved mediaeval woollen fabrics from the Low Countries show that, before the 16th century, only the best quality English wools had a fineness of staple comparable to modern merino wool. The wide range of Spanish wools produced in 13th and early 14th centuries were mostly used domestically for cheap, coarse and light fabrics, and were not merino wools. Later in the 14th century, similar non-merino wools were exported from the northern Castilian ports of
San Sebastián
San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
,
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
, and
Bilbao
)
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize = 275 px
, map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao
, pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption ...
to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and the Low Countries to make coarse, cheap cloth. The quality of Spanish wools exported increased markedly in the late 15th century, as did their price, promoted by the efforts of the monarchs
Ferdinand and Isabella
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...
to improve quality.
Spain built up a virtual monopoly in fine wool exports in the final decades of the 15th century and in the 16th century, creating a substantial source of income for
Castile. In part, this was because most English wool was woven and made into textile goods within England by the 16th century, rather than being exported.
Many of the Castillian merino flocks were owned by nobility or the church, although
Alfonso X
Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...
realised that granting the urban elites of the towns of Old Castile and León transhumant rights to would create an additional source of royal income and counteract the power of the privileged orders During the late 15th, 16th and early 17th century, two-thirds of the sheep migrating annually were held in flocks of less than 100 sheep and very few flocks exceeded 1,000 sheep. By the 18th century, there were fewer small owners, and several owners held flocks of more than 20,000 sheep, but owners of small to moderately-sized flocks remained, and the
Mesta
The ''Mesta'' () was a powerful association protecting livestock owners and their animals in the Crown of Castile that was incorporated in the 13th century and was dissolved in 1836. Although best known for its organisation of the annual migrat ...
was never simply a combination of large owners.
The transhumant sheep grazed the southern Spanish plains in winter and the northern highlands in summer. The annual migrations to and from Castile and León, where the sheep were owned and where they had summer pasturage, was organised and controlled by the Mesta along designated sheep-walks, or ''cañadas reales'' and arranged for suitable grazing, water and rest stops in these routes, and for shearing when the flocks started their return north.
The three Merino strains that founded the world's Merino flocks are the Royal Escurial flocks, the Negretti and the Paula. Among Merino bloodlines stemming from
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
in the US, three historical studs were highly important: Infantado, Montarcos and Aguires. In recent times, Merino and breeds deriving from Merino stocks have spread worldwide. However, there has been a substantial decline in the numbers of several European Merino breeds, which are now considered to be endangered breeds and are no longer the subject of genetic improvement. In Spain, there are now two populations, the commercial Merino flocks, most common in the province of
Extremadura and an "historical" Spanish Merino strain, developed and conserved in a breeding centre near
Cordoba. The commercial Merino flocks show considerable genetic diversity, probably because of their cross-breeding with non-Spanish Merino-derived breeds since the 1960s, to create a strain more suitable for meat production. The historical Spanish strain, bred from animals selected from the main traditional Spanish genetic lines to ensure the conservation of a purebred lineage, exhibits signs of inbreeding.
![Champion Merino ram (1905)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Champion_Merino_ram_%281905%29.jpg)
Before the 18th century, the export of Merinos from Spain was a crime punishable by death. In the 18th century, small exportation of Merinos from Spain and local sheep were used as the foundation of Merino flocks in other countries. In 1723, some were exported to Sweden, but the first major consignment of Escurials was sent by
Charles III of Spain
it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Philip V of Spain
, mother = Elisabeth Farnese
, birth_date = 20 January 1716
, birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain
, death_d ...
to his cousin, Prince Xavier the Elector of
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, in 1765. Further exportation of Escurials to Saxony occurred in 1774, to Hungary in 1775 and to Prussia in 1786. Later in 1786,
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
received 366 sheep selected from 10 different cañadas; these founded the stud at the Royal Farm at
Rambouillet
Rambouillet (, , ) is a subprefecture of the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its centre. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,933.
Rambouillet lies ...
. In addition to the fine wool breeds mentioned, other breeds derived from Merino stocks were developed to produce mutton, including the French Ile de France and Berrichon du Cher breeds. Merino sheep were also sent to Eastern Europe where their breeding began in Hungary in 1774
The Rambouillet stud enjoyed some undisclosed genetic development with some English long-wool genes contributing to the size and wool-type of the French sheep. Through one ram in particular named Emperor – imported to Australia in 1860 by the
Peppin brothers of
Wanganella, New South Wales
Wanganella is a village community on the Billabong Creek in New South Wales, Australia. The settlement is on the Cobb Highway, located between Hay (to the north) and Deniliquin (to the south). Wanganella is within the Edward River Council ...
– the Rambouillet stud had an enormous influence on the development of the Australian Merino.
Sir Joseph Banks procured two rams and four ewes in 1787 by way of Portugal, and in 1792 purchased 40 Negrettis for
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
to found the royal flock at Kew. In 1808, 2000 Paulas were imported.
![Merino ram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Merino_ram.JPG)
The King of Spain also gave some Escurials to the Dutch government in 1790; these thrived in the
Dutch Cape Colony (South Africa). In 1788, John MacArthur, from the
Clan Arthur
Clan Arthur or Clan MacArthur, (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Artair) is a highland Scottish clan that once held lands on the shores of Loch Awe opposite Inishail. The clan has been described as one of the oldest clans in Argyll. Clan Arthur and Clan Cam ...
(or MacArthur Clan) introduced Merinos to Australia from South Africa.
From 1765, the Germans in Saxony crossed the Spanish Merino with the Saxon sheep to develop a dense, fine type of Merino (spinning count between 70s and 80s) adapted to its new environment. From 1778, the Saxon breeding center was operated in the
Vorwerk Rennersdorf. It was administered from 1796 by Johann Gottfried Nake, who developed scientific crossing methods to further improve the Saxon Merino. By 1802, the region had four million Saxon Merino sheep, and was becoming the centre for stud Merino breeding, and German wool was considered to be the finest in the world.
In 1802,
Colonel David Humphreys, United States Ambassador to Spain, introduced the Vermont strain into North America with an importation of 21 rams and 70 ewes from Portugal and a further importation of 100 Infantado Merinos in 1808. The British embargo on wool and wool clothing exports to the U.S. before the
1812 British/U.S. war led to a "Merino Craze", with William Jarvis of the Diplomatic Corps importing at least 3,500
sheep between 1809 and 1811 through Portugal.
The
Napoleonic wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
(1793–1813) almost destroyed the Spanish Merino industry. The old ''cabañas'' or flocks were dispersed or slaughtered. From 1810 onwards, the Merino scene shifted to Germany, the United States and Australia. Saxony lifted the export ban on living Merinos after the Napoleonic wars. Highly decorated Saxon sheep breeder Nake from Rennersdorf had established a private sheep farm in
Kleindrebnitz in 1811, but ironically after the success of his sheep export to Australia and Russia, failed with his own undertaking.
United States Merinos
Merino sheep were introduced to
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
in 1812. This ultimately resulted in a boom-bust cycle for wool, which reached a price of 57 cents/pound in 1835. By 1837, 1,000,000 sheep were in the state. The price of wool dropped to 25 cents/pound in the late 1840s. The state could not withstand more efficient competition from the other states, and sheep-raising in Vermont collapsed. Many sheep farmers from Vermont migrated with their flocks to other parts of the United States.
Australian Merinos
Early history
About 70 native sheep, suitable only for
mutton, survived the journey to Australia with the
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
, which arrived in late January 1788. A few months later, the flock had dwindled to just 28 ewes and one lamb.
[McCosker, Malcolm, Heritage Merino, Owen Edwards Publications, West End, 1988 ]
In 1797, Governor King, Colonel Patterson, Captain Waterhouse and Kent purchased sheep in Cape Town from the widow of Colonel Gordon, commander of the Dutch garrison. When Waterhouse landed in Sydney, he sold his sheep to Captain
John MacArthur John MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to:
*J. Roderick MacArthur (1920–1984), American businessman
*John MacArthur (American pastor) (born 1939), American evangelical minister, televangelist, and author
* John Macarthur (priest), 20th-century pro ...
,
Samuel Marsden and
Captain William Cox. Although the early origin of the Australian Merino breed involved different stocks from Cape Colony, England, Saxony, France and America and although different Merino strains are bred today in Australia, the Australian
Merino populations are genetically similar and distinct from all other Merino populations, indicating a common history after they arrived in Australia.
John and Elizabeth Macarthur
By 1810, Australia had 33,818 sheep. John MacArthur (who had been sent back from Australia to England following a duel with Colonel Patterson) brought seven rams and one ewe from the first dispersal sale of King George III stud in 1804. The next year, MacArthur and the sheep returned to Australia, Macarthur to reunite with his wife
Elizabeth, who had been developing their flock in his absence. Macarthur is considered the father of the Australian Merino industry; in the long term, however, his sheep had very little influence on the development of the Australian Merino.
Macarthur pioneered the introduction of Saxon Merinos with importation from the Electoral flock in 1812. The first Australian wool boom occurred in 1813, when the
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
was crossed. During the 1820s, interest in Merino sheep increased. MacArthur showed and sold 39 rams in October 1820, grossing £510/16/5. In 1823, at the first sheep show held in Australia, a gold medal was awarded to W. Riley (
'Raby') for importing the most Saxons; W. Riley also imported
cashmere goats
A cashmere goat is a type of goat that produces cashmere wool, the goat's fine, soft, downy, winter undercoat, in commercial quality and quantity. This undercoat grows as the day length shortens and is associated with an outer coat of coarse hair ...
into Australia.
Eliza and John Furlong
Two of
Eliza Furlong's (sometimes spelt Forlong or Forlonge) children had died from
consumption, and she was determined to protect her surviving two sons by living in a warm
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
and finding them outdoor occupations. Her husband John, a Scottish businessman, had noticed wool from the
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz.
In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...
sold for much higher prices than wools from New South Wales. The family decided on sheep farming in Australia for their new business. In 1826, Eliza walked over through villages in Saxony and Prussia, selecting fine Saxon Merino sheep. Her sons, Andrew and William, studied sheep breeding and
wool classing
Wool classing is the production of uniform, predictable, low-risk lines of wool, carried out by examining the characteristics of the wool in its raw state and classing (grading) it accordingly. Wool classing is done by a wool classer.
Basis for ...
. The selected 100 sheep were driven (herded) to Hamburg and shipped to Hull. Thence, Eliza and her two sons walked them to Scotland for shipment to Australia. In Scotland, the new Australia Company, which was established in Britain, bought the first shipment, so Eliza repeated the journey twice more. Each time, she gathered a flock for her sons. The sons were sent to New South Wales, but were persuaded to stop in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
with the sheep, where Eliza and her husband joined them.
''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' in 1908 described Eliza Furlong as someone who had 'notably stimulated and largely helped to mould the prosperity of an entire state and her name deserved to live for all time in our history' (reprinted Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser January 27, 1989).
John Murray
There were nearly 2 million sheep in Australia by 1830, and by 1836, Australia had won the wool trade war with Germany, mainly because of Germany's preoccupation with fineness. German manufacturers commenced importing Australian wool in 1845. In 1841, at Mount Crawford in South Australia, Murray established a flock of Camden-blood ewes mated to Tasmanian rams. To broaden the wool and give the animals some size, it is thought some
English Leicester
The Leicester Longwool is an English breed of sheep. Alternative names for the breed include: Leicester, Bakewell Leicester, Dishley Leicester, English Leicester, Improved Leicester and New Leicester. It was originally developed by 18th-century ...
blood was introduced. The resultant sheep were the foundation of many South Australian strong wool studs. His brother
Alexander Borthwick Murray
Alexander Borthwick Murray (14 February 1816 – 17 March 1903) was an Australian sheep breeder and parliamentarian in the early days of South Australia. He married his business partner Margaret Tinline after they had established a successful s ...
was also a highly successful breeder of Merino sheep.
The Peppin brothers
The Peppin brothers took a different approach to producing a hardier, longer-stapled, broader wool sheep. After purchasing Wanganella Station in the
Riverina, they selected 200 station-bred ewes that thrived under local conditions and purchased 100 South Australian ewes bred at Cannally that were sired by an imported Rambouillet ram. The Peppin brothers mainly used Saxon and Rambouillet rams, importing four Rambouillet rams in 1860. One of these, Emperor, cut an 11.4 lb (5.1 kg clean) wool clip. They ran some
Lincoln ewes, but their introduction into the flock is undocumented. In 1865, George Merriman founded the fine wool Merino Ravensworth Stud, part of which is the Merryville Stud at
Yass, New South Wales.
Vermont merinos in Australia
In the 1880s, Vermont rams were imported into Australia from the U.S.; since many Australian stud men believed these sheep would improve wool cuts, their use spread rapidly. Unfortunately, the fleece weight was high, but the clean yield low, the greater grease content increased the risk of
fly strike
Myiasis is the parasitic infestation of the body of a live animal by fly larvae (maggots) which grow inside the host while feeding on its Biological tissue, tissue. Although flies are most commonly attracted to open wounds and urine- or feces-soa ...
, they had lower uneven wool quality, and lower lambing percentages. Their introduction had a devastating effect on many famous fine-wool studs.
![Merino ewes & lambs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Merino_ewes_%26_lambs.JPG)
In 1889, while Australian studs were being devastated by the imported Vermont rams, several U.S. Merino breeders formed the
Rambouillet Association to prevent the destruction of the Rambouillet line in the U.S. Today, an estimated 50% of the sheep on the U.S. western ranges are of Rambouillet blood.
The
federation drought
In Australia, the Federation Drought is the name given to a prolonged period of drought that occurred around the time of Federation in 1901.
Though often thought of as a long drought, until the record dry year of 1902 the period was actually one ...
(1901–1903) reduced the number of Australian sheep from 72 to 53 million and ended the Vermont era. The Peppin and Murray blood strain became dominant in the pastoral and wheat zones of Australia.
High price records
The world record price for a ram was
A$450,000 for JC&S Lustre 53, which sold at the 1988 Merino ram sale at
Adelaide, South Australia
Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
. In 2008, an Australian Merino ewe was sold for
A$14,000 at the Sheep Show and
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
held at
Dubbo
Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.
The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
Events
![New England Tablelands Merino in snow during winter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/New_England_Tablelands_Merino_in_snow_during_winter..jpg)
The
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
Merino Field Days, which display local studs, wool, and sheep, are held during January in even numbered years in and around the
Walcha, New South Wales district. The Annual Wool Fashion Awards, which showcase the use of Merino wool by fashion designers, are hosted by the city of
Armidale, New South Wales in March each year.
Animal welfare developments
In Australia,
mulesing of Merino sheep is a common practice to reduce the incidence of
flystrike
Myiasis is the parasitic infestation of the body of a live animal by fly larvae (maggots) which grow inside the host while feeding on its tissue. Although flies are most commonly attracted to open wounds and urine- or feces-soaked fur, some sp ...
. It has been attacked by
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
and
animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
activists, with
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
running a campaign against the practice in 2004. The PETA campaign targeted U.S. consumers by using graphic billboards in New York City. PETA threatened U.S. manufacturers with television advertisements showing their companies' support of mulesing. Fashion retailers including
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.,
Gap Inc
The Gap, Inc., commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap (stylized as GAP), is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The c ...
and
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...
and
George (UK) stopped stocking Australian Merino wool products.
New Zealand banned mulesing on 1 October 2018.
Characteristics
![CSIRO ScienceImage 8115 Human hair and Merino wool fibre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/CSIRO_ScienceImage_8115_Human_hair_and_Merino_wool_fibre.jpg)
Merino is an excellent forager and very adaptable. It is bred predominantly for its wool,
and its carcass size is generally smaller than that of sheep bred for meat.
South African Meat Merino (SAMM), American Rambouillet and German ''Merinofleischschaf'' have been bred to balance wool production and carcass quality.
Merino has been domesticated and bred in ways that would not allow them to survive well without regular shearing by their owners. They must be shorn at least once a year because their wool does not stop growing. If this is neglected, the overabundance of wool can cause heat stress, mobility issues, and even blindness.
Wool qualities
![CSIRO ScienceImage 7663 The structure of a Merino Wool Fibre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/CSIRO_ScienceImage_7663_The_structure_of_a_Merino_Wool_Fibre.jpg)
Merino wool is fine and soft.
Staples are commonly long. A Saxon Merino produces of greasy wool a year, while a good quality Peppin Merino ram produces up to . Merino wool is generally less than 24
micron (μm) in diameter. Basic Merino types include: strong (broad) wool (23 - 24.5 μm), medium wool (21 - 22.9 μm), fine (18.6 - 20.9 μm), superfine (15 – 18.5 μm) and ultra-fine (11.5 - 15 μm).
[Australian Wool Classing, Australian Wool Corporation, 1990, p. 26]
See also
*
Arkhar-Merino
The Arkhar-Merino is a sheep breed. This breed was produced by crossbreeding between wild Arkhar rams and Precoce merino ewes in the Kurmektinski research station between 1934 and 1949 in Kazakhstan, then in the Soviet Union. This station is locat ...
*
Booroola Merino
The Booroola is a Merino strain that has a high rate of multiple births.
Booroola's prolificacy was studied extensively by New Zealand researchers, who provided one of the first examples of the practical application of gene mapping in sheep, by ma ...
*
Delaine Merino
The Delaine Merino is a type of Merino sheep predominant in North America. It has fewer skin wrinkles than some types of Merino, but still has a fine, oily fleece that extends through the legs. They are hardy and long–lived, with an ability ...
*
Peppin Merino
The Peppin Merino is a breed of Merino sheep raised for their wool, mostly in Australia. So important is the Peppin Merino that wool producers throughout Australia often classify their sheep simply as being either Peppin, or non-Peppin.
Peppin ...
*
Poll Merino
The Poll Merino is a subtype of the Australian Merino breed of domestic sheep, without horns, that was developed in Australia.
Characteristics
These sheep are early maturing, large framed and relatively plain bodied, producing a fleece which is ...
*
Rambouillet sheep
The Rambouillet is a breed of sheep in the genus Ovis. It is also known as the Rambouillet Merino or the French Merino. The development of the Rambouillet breed started in 1786, when Louis XVI purchased over 300 Spanish Merinos (318 ewes, 41 rams ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
The American Delaine & Merino Record AssociationThe American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders AssociationThe Australian Association of Stud Merino BreedersNew Zealand Merino Stud Breeders
{{Authority control
Sheep breeds
Livestock
Sheep breeds originating in Spain