At the South, on the contrary--where these disadvantages do not exist to so great an extent, certainly--wool varying from good medium upward are more profitable staples for cultivation than the lower classes; and in that section a high degree of fineness in fleece has been sought in breeding the Merino--the four-pound fine-fleeced Merino having received marked attention. This is a far more profitable animal than the Saxon, other things being equal--which is not the case, since the former is every way a hardier animal and a better nurse; and, although about twenty pounds heavier, and therefore consuming more feed, this additional expense is more than counterbalanced by the additional care and risk attending the husbandry of the Saxon. POINTS OF THE MERINO. For breeding purposes, the shape and general appearance of the Merino should be as follows:--The head should be well carried up, and in the ewe hornless. It would be better, on many accounts, to have the ram also hornless, but, as horns are usually characteristic of the Merino ram, many prefer to see them. The face should be rather short, broad between the eyes, the nose pointed, and, in the ewe, fine and free from wrinkles. The eye should be bright, moderately prominent, and gentle in its expression. The neck should be straight--not curving downward--short, round, and stout--particularly so at its junction with the shoulder, forward of the upper point of which it should not sink below the level of the back. The points of the shoulder should not rise to any perceptible extent above the level of the back. The back, to the hips, should be straight; the crops--that portion of the body immediately back of the shoulder-blades--full; the ribs well arched; the body large and capacious; the flank well let down; the hind-quarters full and round--the flesh meeting well down between the thighs, or in the "twists." The bosom should be broad and full; the legs short, well apart, and perpendicular--that is, not drawn under the body toward each other when the sheep is standing. Viewed as a whole, the Merino should present the appearance of a low, stout, plump, and--though differing essentially from the English mutton-sheep model--a highly symmetrical sheep.