by merinos, and thus exterminated. The sheep are remarkable from
transmitting their character so truly that Colonel Humphreys (3/96.
'Philosoph. Transactions' London 1813 page 88.) never heard of "but one
questionable case" of an ancon ram and ewe not producing ancon offspring.
When they are crossed with other breeds the offspring, with rare
exceptions, instead of being intermediate in character, perfectly resemble
either parent; even one of twins has resembled one parent and the second
the other. Lastly, "the ancons have been observed to keep together,
separating themselves from the rest of the flock when put into enclosures
with other sheep."

A more interesting case has been recorded in the Report of the Juries for
the Great Exhibition (1851), namely, the production of a merino ram-lamb on
the Mauchamp farm, in 1828, which was remarkable for its long, smooth,
straight, and silky wool. By the year 1833 M. Graux had raised rams enough
to serve his whole flock, and after a few more years he was able to sell
stock of his new breed. So peculiar and valuable is the wool, that it sells
at 25 per cent above the best merino wool: even the fleeces of half-bred
animals are valuable, and are known in France as the "Mauchamp-merino." It
is interesting, as showing how generally any marked deviation of structure
is accompanied by other deviations, that the first ram and his immediate
offspring were of small size, with large heads, long necks, narrow chests,
and long flanks; but these blemishes were removed by judicious crosses and
selection. The long smooth wool was also correlated with smooth horns; and
as horns and hair are homologous structures, we can understand the meaning
of this correlation. If the Mauchamp and ancon breeds had originated a
century or two ago, we should have had no record of their birth; and many a
naturalist would no doubt have insisted, especially in the case of the
Mauchamp race, that they had each descended from, or been crossed with,
some unknown aboriginal form.