Merino

The name merino was not documented in Spain until the early 15th century, and its origin is disputed.[2]

Two suggested origins for the Spanish word merino are given in:[3]

• It may be an adaptation to the sheep of the name of a Leonese official inspector (merino) over a merindad, who may have also inspected sheep pastures. This word is from the medieval Latin maiorinus, a steward or head official of a village, from maior, meaning "greater". However, there is no indication in any of the Leonese or Castilian law codes that this official, either named as maiorinus or merino had any duties connected with sheep, and the late date at which merino was first documented makes any connection with the name of an early mediaeval magistrate implausible.[4]
• It also may be from the name of an Imazighen tribe, the Marini (or in Spanish, Benimerines), who occupied parts of the southwest of the Iberian peninsula during the 12th and 13th centuries. This view gains some support from the derivation of many mediaeval Spanish pastoral terms from Arabic or Berber languages.[5] However, an etymology based on a 12th-century origin for Merino sheep when the Marinids were in Spain is unacceptable the origin of the breed occurred much later.[6]

Australian Merino wool fibre (top) compared to a human hair (bottom), imaged using scanning electron microscopy

Merino is an excellent forager and very adaptable. It is bred predominantly for its wool,[7] and its carcass size is generally smaller than that of sheep bred for meat. South African Meat Merino (SAMM), American Rambouillet and German Merinofleischschaf[8] have been bred to balance wool production and carcass quality.

Merino has been domesticated and bred in ways that would not allow them to survive well without regular shearing by their owners. They must be shorn at least once a year because their wool does not stop growing. If this is neglected, the overabundance of wool can cause heat stress, mobility issues, and even blindness.[9]

Structure of a Merino wool fibre

Merino wool is fine and soft. Staples are commonly 65–100 mm (2.6–3.9 in) long. A Saxon Merino produces 3–6 kg (6.6–13.2 lb) of greasy wool a year, while a good quality Peppin Merino ram produces up to 18 kg (40 lb). Merino wool is generally less than 24 micron (μm) in diameter. Basic Merino types include: strong (broad) wool (23–24.5 μm), medium wool (19.6–22.9 μm), fine (18.6–19.5 μm), superfine (15–18.5 μm) and ultra-fine (11.5–15 μm).[10] Ultra-fine wool is suitable for blending with other fibers such as silk and cashmere.

The term merino is widely used in the textile industries, but it cannot be taken to mean the fabric in question is actually 100% merino wool from a Merino strain bred specifically for its wool. The wool of any Merino sheep, whether reared in Spain or elsewhere, is known as "merino wool". However, not all merino sheep produce wool suitable for clothing, and especially for clothing worn next to the skin or as a second skin. This depends on the particular strain of the breed. Merino sheep bred for meat do not produce a fleece with a fine enough staple for this purpose.

The three theories of the origins of the Merino breed in Spain are: the importation of Moroccan flocks in the 12th century,[11] its origin and improvement in Extremadura, in southwestern Spain, in the 12th and 13th centuries[12] and the selective crossbreeding of Spanish ewes with imported rams at several different periods, so that its characteristic fine wool was not fully developed until the 15th century or even later.[13] The first theory accepts that the breed was improved by later importation of Moroccan rams and the second accepts an initial stock of North African sheep related to types from Asia Minor, and both claim an early date and largely North African origin for the merino breed.[14]

Sheep were relatively unimportant in the Islamic Caliphate of Córdoba, and there is no record of extensive transhumance before the fall of that Caliphate in the 1030s. The Marinids, when a nomadic Zenata Berber tribe, held extensive sheep flocks in Morocco, and its leaders who formed the Marinid Sultanate intervened in Andalusia, supporting the Emirate of Granada several times in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.[15][16] Although they may possibly have brought new breeds of sheep into Spain,[17] there is no definite evidence that the Marinids did bring extensive flocks to Spain. As they arrived as a fighting force, they were hardly in a position to protect extensive flocks or practice selective breeding.[18]

The alternative view, that Merino breed was created in Spain over several centuries with a strong Spanish heritage, rather than simply being an existing North African strain that was imported in the 12th century, is supported both by recent genetic studies and the absence of definitely merino wool before the 15th century. The predominant native sheep breed in Spain since pre-Roman times is the churro, a homogeneous group closely related to European sheep types north of the Pyrenees and bred mainly for meat and milk, with coarse, coloured wool. Churro wool had little value, except where its ewes had been crossed with a fine wool breed from Southern Italy in Roman times.[19]

Genetic studies have shown that the Merino breed most probably developed by the crossing of churro ewes with a variety of rams of other breeds at different periods, including Italian rams in Roman times, northern Africa rams in the mediaeval period and English rams from fine-wool breeds in the 15th century.[20][21]

Preserved mediaeval woollen fabrics from the Low Countries show that, before the 16th century, only the best quality English wools had a fineness of staple comparable to modern merino wool. The wide range of Spanish wools produced in 13th and early 14th centuries were mostly used domestically for cheap, coarse and light fabrics, and were not merino wools.[22] Later in the 14th century, similar non-merino wools were exported from the northern Castilian ports of San Sebastián, Santander, and Bilbao to England and the Low Countries to make coarse, cheap cloth, but the amounts involved are unclear.[23][24] The quality of Spanish wools exported increased markedly in the late 15th century, as did their price, promoted by the efforts of Ferdinand and Isabella to improve quality.[25][26]

The first Italian imports of fine Spanish wool were in the 1390s, although this was sold for about half the price of the best English wools, which were bought in far greater quantities. The earliest documentary evidence for undoubtedly merino wools in Italy was in 1400s, and in the 1420s and 1430s, merino wools were mixed with fine English wool in the some towns in the Low Countries to produce high quality cloth.[27][28] However, it was only in the mid-16th century that the most expensive grades of cloth could be made entirely from merino wool there, after its quality had improved to equal that of the finest English wools, which were in increasingly short supply at that time.[29]

One of the earliest depictions of a Merino. "El Buen Pastor" (The Good Shepherd) by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ca. 1650

Although Spain exported wool to England, the Low Countries and Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries this was only used to make cheap cloths. The earliest evidence of fine Spanish wool exports were to Italy in the 1390s and Flanders in the 1420s, although in both cases fine English wool was preferred. Spain became noted for its fine wool (spinning count between 60s and 64s) in the late 15th century, and by the mid-16th century its merino wool was acknowledged to equal that of the finest English wools.[30][31]

Spain built up a virtual monopoly in fine wool exports in the final decades of the 15th century and the 16th century, creating a substantial source of income for Castile.[32] In part, this was because most English wool was woven and made into textile goods within England by the 16th century, rather than being exported.[33]

Many of the Castillian merino flocks were owned by nobility or the church, although Alfonso X realised that granting the urban elites of the towns of Old Castile and León transhumant rights to would create an additional source of royal income and counteract the power of the privileged orders[34] During the late 15th, 16th and early 17th century,two-thirds of the sheep migrating annually were held in flocks of less than 100 sheep and very few flocks exceeded 1,000 sheep. By the 18th century, there were fewer small owners, and several owners held flocks of more than 20,000 sheep, but owners of small to moderately-sized flocks remained, and the Mesta was never simply a combination of large owners.[35]

The transhumant sheep grazed the southern Spanish plains in winter and the northern highlands in summer. The annual migrations to and from Castile and León, where the sheep were owned and where they had summer pasturage, was organised and controlled by the Mesta along designated sheep-walks, or cañadas reales and arranged for suitable grazing, water and rest stops in these routes, and for shearing when the flocks started their return north.[36]

The three Merino strains that founded the world's Merino flocks are the Royal Escurial flocks, the Negretti and the Paula. Among Merino bloodlines stemming from Vermont in the US, three historical studs were highly important: Infantado, Montarcos and Aguires. In recent times, Merino and breeds deriving from Merino stocks have spread worldwide. However, there has been a substantial decline in the numbers of several European Merino breeds, which are now considered to be endangered breeds and are no longer the subject of genetic improvement. In Spain, there are now two populations, the commercial Merino flocks, most common in the province of Extremadura and an "historical" Spanish Merino strain, developed and conserved in a breeding centre near Cordoba. The commercial Merino flocks show considerable genetic diversity, probably because of their cross-breeding with non-Spanish Merino-derived breeds since the 1960s, to create a strain more suitable for meat production.[37] The historical Spanish strain, bred from animals selected from the main traditional Spanish genetic lines to ensure the conservation of a purebred lineage, exhibits signs of inbreeding.[38]

Champion Merino ram, 1905 Sydney Sheep Show.

Before the 18th century, the export of Merinos from Spain was a crime punishable by death. In the 18th century, small exportation of Merinos from Spain and local sheep were used as the foundation of Merino flocks in other countries. In 1723, some were exported to Sweden, but the first major consignment of Escurials was sent by Charles III of Spain to his cousin, Prince Xavier the Elector of Saxony, in 1765. Further exportation of Escurials to Saxony occurred in 1774, to Hungary in 1775 and to Prussia in 1786. Later in 1786, Louis XVI of France received 366 sheep selected from 10 different cañadas; these founded the stud at the Royal Farm at Rambouillet. In addition to the fine wool breeds mentioned, other breeds derived from Merino stocks were developed to produce mutton, including the French Ile de France and Berrichon du Cher breeds. Merino sheep were also sent to Eastern Europe where their breeding began in Hungary in 1774[39]

The Rambouillet stud enjoyed some undisclosed genetic development with some English long-wool genes contributing to the size and wool-type of the French sheep.[40] Through one ram in particular named Emperor – imported to Australia in 1860 by the Peppin brothers of Wanganella, New South Wales – the Rambouillet stud had an enormous influence on the development of the Australian Merino.

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.

A stud Merino ram that has been branded on his horn

The King of Spain also gave some Escurials to the Dutch government in 1790; these thrived in the Dutch Cape Colony (South Africa). In 1788, John MacArthur, from the Clan Arthur (or MacArthur Clan) introduced Merinos to Australia from South Africa.

From 1765, the Germans in Saxony crossed the Spanish Merino with the Saxon sheep[41] to develop a dense, fine type of Merino (spinning count between 70s and 80s) adapted to its new environment. From 1778, the Saxon breeding center was operated in the Vorwerk Rennersdorf. It was administered from 1796 by Johann Gottfried Nake, who developed scientific crossing methods to further improve the Saxon Merino. By 1802, the region had four million Saxon Merino sheep, and was becoming the centre for stud Merino breeding, and German wool was considered to be the finest in the world.

In 1802, Colonel David Humphreys, United States Ambassador to Spain, introduced 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 exports to the U.S. before the 1812 British/U.S. war led to a "Merino Craze", with William Jarvis of the Diplomatic Corps importing at least 3,500[42] sheep between 1809 and 1811 through Portugal.

The Napoleonic wars (1793–1813) almost destroyed the Spanish Merino industry. The old cabañas or flocks were dispersed or slaughtered. From 1810 onwards, the Merino scene shifted to Germany, the United States and Australia. Saxony lifted the export ban on living Merinos after the Napoleonic wars. Highly decorated Saxon sheep breeder Nake from Rennersdorf had established a private sheep farm in Kleindrebnitz in 1811, but ironically after the success of his sheep export to Australia and Russia, failed with his own undertaking.

Merino sheep were introduced to Vermont in 1802. This ultimately resulted in a boom-bust cycle for wool, which reached a price of 57 cents/pound in 1835. By 1837, 1,000,000 sheep were in the state. The price of wool dropped to 25 cents/pound in the late 1840s. The state could not withstand more efficient competition from the other states, and sheep-raising in Vermont collapsed.[43]

New England Tablelands superfine Merino in snow

The New England Merino Field Days, which display local studs, wool, and sheep, are held during January in even numbered years in and around the Walcha, New South Wales district.[57] The Annual Wool Fashion Awards, which showcase the use of Merino wool by fashion designers, are hosted by the city of Armidale, New South Wales in March each year.[58]

In Australia, mulesing of Merino sheep is a common practice to reduce the incidence of flystrike. It has been attacked by animal rights and animal welfare activists, with PETA running a campaign against the practice in 2004. The PETA campaign targeted U.S. consumers by using graphic billboards in New York City. PETA threatened U.S. manufacturers with television advertisements showing their companies' support of mulesing. Fashion retailers including Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Gap Inc and Nordstrom and George (UK) stopped stocking Australian Merino wool products.[59]

The Animal Welfare Advisory Committee to the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture Code of recommendations and minimum standards for the welfare of Sheep, considers mulesing a "special technique" which is performed on some Merino sheep at a small number of farms in New Zealand.[60]

• Cottle, D.J. (1991). Australian Sheep and Wool Handbook. Melbourne, Australia: Inkata Press. pp. 20–23. ISBN 0-909605-60-2.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Merino (breed).

Wikisource has the text of the 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article Merino.

• The American Delaine & Merino Record Association
• The American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders Association
• The Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders
• New Zealand Merino Stud Breeders