Merino Sheep in Greenfield Village during Sheep-Shearing Season, April 2008

Nineteenth-century wool producers preferred wrinkled Merino sheep. More skin yielded more wool, which shearers carefully cut away using blade shears. Ultimately, electrically powered mechanical shears became more practical. Shearers operating these much faster tools had difficulty navigating around wrinkles, and farmers began breeding out the now undesirable trait. The Merino sheep at Greenfield Village have been selectively bred back to resemble their wrinkly ancestors.