284 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



&quot; From time immemorial, the hills of Gloucestershire, Eng., have been inhabited by a 

 breed of rustic sheep, sheltered in winter beneath sheds, to preserve them from the severity 

 of the climate of that pastoral region. It is from this latter circumstance that the breed 

 takes its name (Cots-wold; i. e., camp of sheep cots, or sheds). 



Before the advent of Bakewell, these sheep were noted for the whiteness and fineness 

 (relatively) of their wool. At the commencement of the 16th century, Camden described the 

 numerous flocks of sheep raised upon the hills of Gloucestershire as furnishing wool of 

 remarkable whiteness, and of very fine quality, much esteemed and sought after by foreign 

 nations. 



Typical Characteristics. Forehead short, and not prominent; little prominence to the 

 orbital arch; face long, slightly conical; the zygomatic crest prominent; lower jaw-bone has 

 its branches close together, and rising again at an obtuse angle; the incisive arch large. In 

 the living animal the muzzle is large and blunt; lips thick; mouth large; ear short, heavy, 

 and falling to the front; head covered with wool to the rear of the orbital arch, and forming 

 a point on the forehead; eye small, with upper lid drooping slightly. 



Secondary Characteristics. The wool of a remarkable whiteness a whiteness which is 

 not met with in any other breed the hair long, smooth, and soft, forming locks that are 

 pointed but curled; fleece more full than that of other long- wool breeds in general, extending 

 under the belly, but not over the legs ; stature very high ; more robust than that of the Leices 

 ter breed; head relatively a little large; neck long, slightly formed, and puny; chest very 

 large and prominent; shoulders strongly muscled; withers low and very thick-set; line of 

 back slightly elevated; haunches well spread; rump long and pointed; hams rather lean; 

 flank short; belly well rounded; body as a whole large, and in form of a parallelepiped, 

 limbs well spread when the animal is standing. Notwithstanding the great development of 

 skeleton, the aptitude for fattening is prominent. They are not so precocious as the Leicester 

 breed. 



As fattened for market, the Cotswold attains, commonly, a weight of eighty kilogrammes 

 (175 Ibs.) Of the four lots exhibited at the International Fair at Poissy, in 1862, one, 

 composed of five animals, only nine and a half months old, gave a total live weight of 532 

 kilogrammes (1170 Ibs.), which would be an average of 160 kils. 400 grammes per head, 

 134 Ibs.) The oldest lot, twenty-one months old, weighed only 457 kils., or 91 kils. 400 

 grammes per head (200 Ibs.) The two other lots, of six and a half months old, and ten 

 and a half months old, weighed the first 387 kils., the second 486 kils.; an average of 77 

 kils. 400 grammes (170 Ibs.), and 97 kils. 200 grammes (213 Ibs.) When it is considered 

 that these weights were of animals fattened for display, and brought directly from England, 

 it will be remarked that the figure named for the average weight of the breed is no exagger 

 ation. 



The meat is of first quality, and esteemed above that of the New Leicester and New 

 Kent breeds, although, like the latter, it may quite often be surrounded by the thick layer of 

 fat before spoken of. M. Nouvais has truly said, one of the qualities possessed in a remark 

 able degree by the Cotswold &quot; is that of accommodating itself to all varieties of climate and 

 nourishment; &quot; and adds, &quot;this breed prospers upon the poor soil of the hills of Gloucester, 

 and thrives equally well upon the rich pasturage of Leicester and Buckinghamshire.&quot; While 

 increasing the fattening propensity, the breed has preserved, with its vigorous and rustic 

 nature, the faculty of accommodating itself, more readily than any other of the English 

 breeds, to the varying circumstances of agriculture and climate.&quot; 



It is stated by good authority that flocks of Cotswolds will often average nine pounds of 

 unwashed wool, and that this is a fair standard, below which they ought not to fall. Many 

 of the bucks imported from England reach from 300 to 400 pounds weight. John Snell s 

 Sons, of Edmonton, Ontario, Canada, state that they have bred Cotswold bucks that, at 



