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THE FARM£R*S MAGAZINE. 



unsatisfactory to both exhibitors and judges. They have 

 the last few years spread most rapidly in Oxfordshire 

 and distant coutities, and a very large number of rams 

 is annually disposed of not only by private contract, 

 but by auction at the Oxford cattle market, not a few 

 finding their way into Hampshire and Shropshire. In 

 a letter I received from Mr. Jonas Paxton, the well- 

 known auctioner of Bicester, who sells by far the 

 greatest number, he says, " Although I find an an- 

 nual increase in the number produced for sale, I find 

 more than a corresponding increase in the demand." 

 I shall close my remarks upon this breed by quoting 

 again from Mr. Robert Smith's report of the Warwick 

 show, a vei'y high authority upon such matters. He 

 , writes: "The Oxford downs date from the year 1833, 

 J when a neat well-made Cotswold ram was used with 

 '/ Hampshire ewes ; at that period several breeders tried 

 I the same experiment, which by subsequent attention 

 has resulted in the establishment of this rent-paying 

 class of sheep;" and he adds, "Some excellent sheep 

 of this breed have been shown at the various meetings : 

 their career has been the most noticed in the yard 

 of the Smithfield Club Cattle Show. As fat wethers 

 they have again and again astonished the public, while 

 the prize ram exhibited by Mr. Druce at Warwick 

 went far to recommend them as male animals." I have 

 gone more fully into the history and merits of the two 

 last breeds, and have obtained more evidence from those 

 who were well acquainted with them, for this reason: 

 they have not been so long before the public, conse- 

 quently not so well known. It does appear from the 

 success which has attended the efforts of these breeders, 

 the theory is correct, "that from a judicious pairing of 

 cross-bred animals it is practicable to estabhsh a new 

 breed altogether.'' The breeders of these sheep, more 

 particularly those of the Oxfordshire, contend that they 

 can produce animals with more uniformity of character, 

 a heavier fleece of wool, and greater aptitude to fatten 

 than are to be obtained by crossing the established 

 breeds, such as the Hampshire or Southdown ewe, with 

 a Cotswold or otlier long-woolled ram. If it, be true 

 that the advantages I have indicated are realized, these 

 breeds must be highly desirable, and perhaps not their 

 least valuable quality is that the breeder who is anxious 

 to obtain the same results as by crossing is not driven 

 yearly into the market for his ewes. Probably some may 

 be disappointed with my treatment of this subject ; but 

 after due deliberation, 1 resolved to adopt the course I 

 have done, viz., to place the various leading breeds, with 

 as much information as I could gain upon them, fairly 

 before the Club, and leave the members to discuss thtir 

 relative merits. I would observe that should a good 

 discussion ensue upon tbis paper, I shall be amply com- 

 pensated for any little trouble I may have taken. I hope 

 I have not occupied so much of the evening as to prevent 

 a full discussion of the subject, for I hold that quite as 

 much information is conveyed to the Club, and through 

 it to the public, by the remarks of subsequent speakers 

 as by the introductory papers. In conclusion, I have to 

 express my acknowledgments to those gentlemen in dif- 

 ferent parts of the country who have kindly favoured 

 me with much information upon the respective breeds 

 to which they have more immediately directed their 

 attention. 



Mr. Edmonds (Trunkwell, Berks) wished to ask Mr. 

 Howard a question. He spoke of a development of 

 what he called the unestablished breeds. As regarded 

 the Oxfordshire downs, he should like to know whether 

 the lambs sold were the produce of the second crosses .■' 

 Mr. Howard : Yes. 



Mr. CoTHER (Middle Aston, Woodstock) said he was 

 a breeder of Cotswold sheep, and he might add that in 

 the capacity of au auctioneer he had hud a great deal to 



do with the sale of Cotswold rams, Mr. Howard's 

 estimate of the number of Cotswold rams sold in the 

 course of the season was, he believed, far under the 

 mark. In the last season his sales for professed breeders 

 and for himself amounted to nearly HOO, and he 

 thought the sales by various other auctioneers would 

 go far towards making up 3,000, There were, 

 however, in addition a great number of rams sold 

 privately for removal to various counties of England 

 — the majority, he thought, going eastward. Cotswold 

 rams were not unfrequently sold to Herefordshire 

 breeders and for exportation at 40, 50, and even 

 60 guineas a-piece. To whatever extent crossing might 

 be carried, he did not think the Cotswolds would, as a 

 race, ever be severed from their native district, the Cots- 

 wold Hills. (Hear, hear.) They were not, as some 

 people supposed, a large and unkindly breed of sheep, 

 but had an e\traordinary propensity to fatten. This year 

 a nephew of his connected with Smithfield market sold 

 a number of shorn ewes at 3 guineas a-piece, and a num- 

 ber of shorn tegs at 66s., and those were not bad prices. 

 (Hear, hear.) He should be rather surprised to find other 

 sheep yielding more per head ; if that were alleged to be 

 the case, he should like to see positive proof. He had 

 never yet found anyone attempting to conduct a com- 

 parative analysis of what might be done with regard to 

 the various breeds of sheep in this kingdom. That 

 would, in fact, be a most diflBcult task for anyone to 

 perform. In the first place, he must take great care 

 that his premises were right, and that the sheep com- 

 pared were each the best of its kind. Breeders of the 

 different kinds of sheep must be convened together, and 

 each must make his own choice of the animals on which 

 the experiments were to be tried, the object being to 

 ascertain the increase ot meat derivable from a given 

 quantity of food. He certainly agreed with Mr. Hobbs 

 that much depended on climate, soil, and other circum- 

 stances connected with particular localities. (Hear, 

 hear.) He himself happened to live only thirteen 

 miles from the city of Oxford; and he had found that 

 about five miles north of Oxford, Oxfordshire Down 

 sheep almost entirely ceased, persons who had com- 

 menced breeding them there having discontinued it, 

 and gone back to the old sort. For the vicini'y of Ban- 

 bury also, which was about twenty miles from Oxford, 

 Cotswold sheep were very general. There was a chain 

 of land running from about east to west, and em- 

 bracing an area of about twenty-five miles long and 

 fourteen or fifteen broad. In that district, the Oxford- 

 shire Downs prevailed to a considerable extent, the soil 

 being that which intervened between tie flint and chalk 

 of the Berkshire and Wiltshire hills, and the stone 

 brash and red lands of Oxforrlshite, Northamptonshire, 

 and Warwickshire. This land lies north and south of 

 Oxford. As regarded the spread of the particular breed 

 with which he was connected, he would observe that 

 about thirty or more years ago there was no auction 

 sale of rams in Oxfordshire or Gloucestershire. He 

 need scarcely add that the development of the race had 

 been very rapid, and the improvement made in various 

 breeds of sheep, through their exportation, exceedingly 

 great. He thought that, unless they obtained more 

 positive proof of the relative values of various breeds 

 of sheep than had been given that evening, they would 

 return home no wiser than they came. Gentlemen 

 should not make statements unless they could support 

 them by evidence. He was glad to perceive that the 

 farmers of England were determined not to accept that 

 which was not borne out by facts. Discussions of that 

 kind were most useful, if they were conducted on right 

 principles : if there were no attempts to deceive or to 

 keep back the truth, they tended greatly to benefit the 

 agriculture of the country. 



