The raising of sheep goes so far back into primitive times that historians have been compelled to draw a veil over its origin. Whether sheep antedate man, or man existed before sheep, is a question that has never been authoritatively answered. For our purposes very little history will suffice. We know that sheep were raised in Biblical times, but we do not know much about them. We do know, however, that the old Romans practised sheep-breeding with great care and even went so far as to cover their animals with cloth in order to preserve the clean quality of the fleece. During the reign of the Roman Emperor, Claudius (A. D., 50), an Italian named Columella, took several Italian sheep to Spain and crossed them with the native Spanish Merino breed. It is said that the resulting type is the progenitor of all the Merino breeds which now form the basis of sheep-breeding. Under the rule of the Saracens, Spain became not only a great sheep-raising country, but a woolen manufacturing country as well. In the thirteenth century there were no less than sixteen thousand looms in the town of Seville alone. [Sidenote: _Spain_] When the Saracens were driven out by Philip III. the textile industry disappeared from Spain, but sheep husbandry, which did not require skilled labor, remained, and Spanish wool continued to be the finest in the world. [Sidenote: _Europe_] [Sidenote: _Spread of Merino_] During the eighteenth century various European countries began to import merinos and cross them with their native breeds. This, because of the sturdy quality of some of the native types, frequently produced excellent results. In France we thus have the origin of the Rambouillet merino, in Germany and Austria of the Saxony and Silesian breeds. In 1810 merinos were first introduced into Australia with astonishing results both as to grade of wool and increase of flocks. About the same time South America, South Africa, and the United States imported Spanish sheep. Of all the highly civilized countries, England is the only one where merino breeding was not successful. This was due in part to the climate, but the chief cause was the fact that British sheep-raising was primarily for mutton purposes, and only secondarily for wool. The merino types are smaller, and hence do not yield as good mutton carcasses as some of the native “Down” and “Mountain” breeds. In many cases, however, the native English breeds, notably the Lincolns, have been imported to other countries and there crossed with merinos with very good success. [Sidenote: _Native Breeds_]