Merino
The merino is the most numerous breed of sheep in the world. It is a breed prized for its wool, although more recently the low price of wool has led to more of an emphasis on carcass (meat) characteristics. Super fine merinos are regarded as having the finest and softest wool of any sheep. Poll merinos have no horns (or very small stubs), and horned merinos have long, spiral horns which grow close to the head.
Wool
Although the merino is an excellent grazer and very adaptable, it is bred chiefly for its wool, because it matures slowly and its mutton is generally of poor quality, excepting the related South African Mutton Merino and Merinofleischschaf derivative breeds. The wool is tightly crimped and springy. Staples are commonly 2.5–4 inches (65–100 mm). A merino produces 7–13 lb (4.5–6 kg) of unwashed wool in one year. Merino wool is generally less than 24.5 micrometres (microns) in diameter. Fine merino wool is less than 21.5 µm and extra-fine merino is under 19.5 µm.
The term "merino" is widely employed in the textile industries with very varied meanings. Originally it was restricted to denote the wool of the merino sheep reared in Spain, but owing to the superiority of Australian and New Zealand wools the term now has broader use. In the dress-goods and knitting trades the term "merino" still implies an article made from the very best soft wool. "Merino" is sometimes employed to mean knitwear produced with a special worsted yarn made of 100% wool.
The beauty of the fiber itself is evident in intense, cold-weather or high-performance applications, where merino distinguishes itself from cotton and polyester fabrics by offering superior breathability, temperature regulation, moisture control, and inherent anti-microbial properties. Unlike "traditional" wool, merino is much finer, softer, and, best of all, itch-free for all but those with severe sensitivities or lanolin allergies.
Regions of merino husbandry
The rearing of merinos predominates in many regions where sheep are bred for their wool rather than their mutton, as in New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, South Africa and the western United States. In Australasia, the merinos are crossed with Lincolns, Leicesters, Shropshires, Suffolks and other English short wool breeds to produce first cross prime lamb mothers and prime lamb wethers. The prime lamb mothers are crossed again and the resultant second cross lambs slaghtered as prime lambs. The merino is not commonly bred in the United Kingdom, as the humidity engenders wool rot and cotting (matting which is caused by movement of the fleece relative to the sheep).
History
The Phoenicians introduced sheep from Asia Minor into North Africa, and the foundation flocks might have been introduced into spain as late as the 12th century by the Beni-Merines a tribe of Arabic Moors. Spain became noted for it's fine wool ( spinning count between 60's and 64's) and built up a fine wool monopoly during the 12th and 16th century with wool commerce to Flanders and England being a source of income for Castile in the Late Middle Ages..
Most of the flocks known as cabanas or cavanas where owned by nobility or the church, the sheep grazed the Spanish southern plains in winter and the nothern highlands in summer. The Mesta was a organisation of privileged sheep owners who developed the breed and controlled the migrations.
The three great studs that founded most of the worlds merino flocks were the Royal Escurial flocks, the Negretti and the Paula. The infantado, Montarcos and Aguires studs had an influence on the Vermont bloodlines.
Before the 18th century the export of merinos from Spain was a crime punishable with death. In 1723 some were exported to Sweden, but the first major consignment of Escurials was sent by Ferdinand VI of Spain to his cousin , Prince Xavier the Elector of Saxony, a German province in 1765. Further exportation of Escurials to Saxony occurred in 1774, to Hungry in 1775 and to Prussia in 1786. Later in 1786 Louis XVI of France received 366 sheep selected from 10 different cavanas, these founded the stud at the Royal Farm at Rambouillet.
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, to found the royal flock at Kew. In 1808, 2000 Paulas were imported.
The King of Spain also gave some Escurials to the Dutch government in 1790, these thrived in the Dutch Cape Colony ( South Aftrica). In 1797 Governor King, Colonel Patterson, Captain Waterhouse and Kent purchased sheep from the widow of Colonel Gordon, commander of the Dutch garrison in Cape town either on their way to, or from Australia. When Waterhouse landed in Sydney he sold his sheep to Captain John Macarther, Samuel Marsden and Captain William Cox.
In 1804 John Macarther ( who had been sent back from Australia to England following a dual with Colonel Patterson) brought seven rams and one ewe from the first dispersal sale of King George III stud. In 1805 Macarther and the sheep returned to Australia.
From 1765 the Germans in Saxony developed a dense, fine type of merino (spinning count between 70s and 80s) adapted to its new environment. By 1802 the region has 4 million Saxon Merino Sheep, was becoming the center for stud merino breeding and German wool was the finest in the world.
In 1802, Column David Humphries, United States Ambassador to Spain initiated 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 imports prior to the 1812 British/USA war led to a "Merino Craze" with William Jarvis of the Diplomatic Corps importing at least 3500 [1] sheep between 1809 to 1811 through Portugal.
The Napoleonic wars (1793-1813) almost destroyed the Spanish Merino industry. The old cavanas where dispersed or slaughtered. From 1810 onwards the Merino scene shifted to Germany, the United States and Australia. Between 1810 and 1840 Australia was engaged in a wool trade war with Germany while importing German Sheep. By 1840 Australia had won the war mainly because of German's preoccupation with fineness.
By 1801 Australia had 33818 sheep. Macarther 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 was crossed. By 1830 the Australian sheep population was nearly 2 million. In 1823 at the first sheep show held in Australia a gold medal was awarded to W. Riley ( 'Raby') for importing the most Saxons.
In 1841, John Murray at Mt Crawford in South Australia 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 blood was introduced. The resultant sheep where the foundation of many South Australian strong wool studs.
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 a 11.4 kg (5.1Kg clean) fleece. They ran some Lincoln ewes but their introduction into the flock is undocumented.
In 1880s Vermont rams were imported into Australia from the USA, since many Australian Studman 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, they had lower uneven wool quality, and lower lambing percentages. Their introduction had a devastating effect on many famous fine-wool studs.
The drought in 1901-1903 reduced the number of Australian sheep from 72 to 53 million and ended the Vermont era with the Peppin and Murray blood strain becoming dominant in the pastoral and wheat zones of Australia.
In Australia today, Saxon fine wool merinos dominate in the high rainfall areas ( 17 micron to 20 micron), in the pastoral and Agriculture country Peppins and Collinsville ( 21 to 24 micron) are popular. In the drier areas one finds the Collinsville (21 to 24 micron) strains.
Etymology
There are two proposed origins[2] for the Spanish word:
- Merino may be an adaptation to the sheep of the name of a Castilian official inspector (merino), who may have also inspected sheep pastures. This word is from the medieval Latin majorinus, a steward or head official of a village, from major, meaning great.
- Merino may from the name of a Berber tribe, the Marini (or in Castilian, Benimerines), which intervened in the Iberian peninsula during the 12th and 13th centuries.
See also
- Booroola Merino, prolific Merino strain
- Churro (sheep), another sheep race from Spain.
- Domestic sheep
- Guard Llama, llamas used as livestock guardians.
- Sheep shearing
- Wool
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Cottle, D.J. (1991). Australian Sheep and Wool Handbook. Melbourne, Australia: Inkata Press. pp. 20–23. ISBN 0-909605-60-2.
