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Knight's Mechanical Encyclopedia (ed. Knight), M. (search)
so named as being made of the wool of the merino sheep. It is a lady's dress goods, all wool, and twilled on both sides. The Merino variety of sheep is a native of Spain, which country was celebrated for its wool in the time of Pliny. The greater number of the sheep of Spain belong to the mesta, or merino corporation, which has about 5,000,000 sheep in flocks of 10,000 each. Each flock has an officer, 50 shepherds, and 50 dogs. In summer, the sheep feed upon the elevated lands of Biscay, Navarre, and Arragon, and toward winter are driven southward to the fertile plains of New Castile, Andalusia, and Estramadura. The lambs come in January, and shearing commences the 1st of May, being carried on in houses where the flocks of sheep are folded on their northern march. 125 men shear 1,000 ewes per day, 50 weathers per man being considered a day's work. The ewes yield from 4 to 5 pounds of wool, the weathers from 7 to 8. The wool of each sheep is sorted into four varieties.