Corriedale

The Corriedale was developed in New Zealand and Australia in the 1860s and 1870s by crossing Merino ewes with Lincoln and Leicester rams, and it is one of the oldest of the deliberately created dual-purpose breeds.

The fleece is what it is known for. Corriedale wool is medium to fine with a long staple and a well-defined crimp, bulky and easy to spin, and it is the wool most often recommended to people learning to spin.

They are polled, white faced, and the ewes raise a lamb that finishes acceptably while the fleece pays its own way.

They are also the second most numerous sheep in the world after the Merino.

The trade is the usual dual-purpose one. A Corriedale lamb will not grow like a Suffolk cross and the wool will not price like a Merino's, and the breed makes its case on the two together.