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Outcrossing with English long-wool breeds and selection produced a well-defined breed, [2] differing in several important points from the original Spanish Merino. The size was greater, with full-grown ewes weighing up to 200 lb and rams up to 300 lb. The wool clips were larger and the wool length had increased to greater than 3 in (80 mm).
Full wool Merino sheep Merino sheep and red goats. Madrid, Spain. The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool.It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed were not allowed, and those who tried risked capital punishment.
Crude lanolin constitutes about 5–25% of the weight of freshly shorn wool. The wool from one Merino sheep will produce about 250–300 ml of recoverable wool grease. . Lanolin is extracted by washing the wool in hot water with a special wool scouring detergent to remove dirt, wool grease (crude lanolin), suint (sweat salts), and anything else stuck to the
Wool from Merino hoggets is the finest and most valuable. Merino wool is 3–5 in (7.6–12.7 cm) long and very soft. Coarse wools, being durable and resistant to pilling, are used for making tough garments [75] and carpets. Drinking horn made by Brynjólfur Jónsson of Skarð, Iceland, 1598
Merino wool is typically 90–115 mm (3.5–4.5 in) in length and is very fine (between 12 and 24 microns). [12] The finest and most valuable wool comes from Merino hoggets. Wool taken from sheep produced for meat is typically coarser, and has fibers 40–150 mm (1.5–6 in) in length.
The Shetland is a small, wool-producing breed of sheep originating in the Shetland Isles, Scotland, but is now also kept in many other parts of the world. It is part of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, and it is closely related to the extinct Scottish Dunface. Shetlands are classified as a landrace or "unimproved" breed. [1]
It is a heavy and muscular sheep, and produces a lean meat carcass. It is polled, clean-faced and clean-legged, with white face and wool. The fibre diameter of the wool averages about 32 μ, with a staple length of 8–15 cm; it is used mainly for knitting and hosiery wools. [4]: 932
In 1812, the average fleece of a Vermont sheep was only six percent of the animal's weight. By 1844, that figure had more than doubled to 15 percent, and by 1865 it had risen to 21 percent. This was monumental change, and it wrought a sheep boom that filled the pockets of Vermont farmers.