SHEEP AND GOATS 245 



The Cotswold is a good wool producer. The fleece will 

 average ten pounds in weight and the staple is often twelve to 

 fourteen inches in length, but is rather coarse. The word 

 staple refers to the fibres of wool. The mutton of this breed 

 is only fair in quality, the fat not being well distributed 

 through the lean meat. Lambs less than twelve months old 

 make the best mutton. 



This breed is widely distributed, but the total number is 

 not so large as that of some other breeds. In America the 

 leading flocks are in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and 

 Ontario. . 



The Leicester breed comes from Leicestershire in central 

 England. It was one of the first breeds to be improved. 

 Robert Bakewell made himself famous by his improvement 

 of it. It has been much used for crossing for the improve- 

 ment of other breeds. The mutton is much like that of the 

 Cotswold, but the wool has a much finer fibre and does not 

 lie in curls. The head is bare of wool and there are no horns. 

 While this breed is widely distributed, the total number of 

 animals is not large. 



The Lincoln is also an English breed, coming from the 

 county of Lincoln. It is the largest of our breeds of sheep. 

 Rams sometimes weigh 400 pounds, but 300 pounds is an 

 average weight. The wool hangs in curls somewhat like the 

 fleece of the Cotswold and there is a short forelock. The staple 

 is longer than that of any other breed, being reported as long 

 as twenty-one inches. The average weight of the fleece is 

 about fifteen pounds. The mutton is much the same as that 

 of the Cotswold. The breed is also widely distributed but 

 nowhere very numerous. Rams of this breed are being exten- 

 sively used for breeding purposes in Argentina, and the lambs 



