The celebrity of this breed, for the production of a remarkably fine _wool_, has been such, that all the highest priced cloths manufactured in this country, until of late years, were made of Spanish wool. In the year 1787 some of these sheep were first introduced into England. And, although it was formerly a prevailing opinion that the excellence of their fleece depended, in a great degree, upon the temperature of the Spanish climate, it has been satisfactorily ascertained that the fineness of Spanish wool is not in the slightest degree impaired by breeding the sheep in this country. Even in Hungary sheep of this kind have, for many years, been so successfully reared, that much of the fine wool used in our clothing countries has been imported from thence. The average weight of the Merino fleece is about three pounds and half. It has lately been a great object of attention in England to improve our own breeds, particularly the Ryeland, by a mixture with merinos, and this cross breed is stated to retain all the principal characteristics of the Spanish race. The _mutton_ of these sheep, for size and flavour, is much in demand, and sells in the market at a higher price than that of most other kinds of sheep. 100. _The BROAD-TAILED SHEEP are a very remarkable kind of sheep, distinguished by their tails being extremely large, and so long as sometimes to drag upon the ground._ _They are found in several parts of Persia, Syria, Egypt, and other eastern countries._ The _tails_ of these animals are almost wholly composed of a substance resembling marrow, and sometimes they are equal in weight to one-third of the whole carcase. To prevent them from chafing against the ground, the shepherds not unfrequently put boards, with small wheels, under them, attached to the hinder parts of the animal. The substance of these tails is in great demand, instead of butter, for culinary purposes; and it forms an ingredient in several kinds of dishes. The _fleece_ of the broad-tailed sheep is peculiarly long and fine, and, in Thibet, is manufactured into shawls and other articles of peculiarly delicate texture, which form a considerable source of wealth to the inhabitants. Of these, and of another kind of sheep called _Tartarian_ or _fat-rumped sheep_, the hinder parts of which are so excessively fat as entirely to enclose the tail, there are great numbers bred in Tartary. It is even stated that, on an average, 150,000 of them are annually sold at the fairs of Orenburgh, and a much greater number in some other places. 101. _The COMMON OX_ (Bos taurus domesticus, Fig. 29) _is characterised by having rounded horns which curve outward, and a loose skin or dewlap beneath the throat._ _The male is called_ bull, _the female_ cow, _and the young one_ calf. _This animal, in a wild state, is the_ bison (Fig. 15) _which is found in the marshy forests of Poland and Lithuania._