LECTURE NO. 17. 



COTSWOLD SHEEP ORIGIN AND HISTORY, CHARAC- 

 TERISTICS AND STANDARD POINTS. 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 



I. The Cotswolds are a breed of sheep which 

 originated amid the low calcareous hills in the 

 eastern part of Gloucestershire, England. 



(1) They were also found to some extent in Hereford 

 and Worcester. 



(2) These hills, known as the Cotswold, produced a short, 

 nutritious herbage. 



II. Cotswolds were so named 



(1) From the sheds called cots or cottos, in which they 

 were housed in time of storms, and 



(2) The naked hilly ground termed weald or wold upon 

 which they pastured. 



III. The wool produced by these sheep was 

 famous centuries ago, hence 



(1) Some regard the Cotswolds as of great antiquity, but 



(2) As the wool in those times was fine, others regard the 

 Cotswolds as more modern in origin, and descended from sheep 

 brought from lower lands. 



IV. The Cotswolds before improvement. 



(1) They were large, tall and rangy, and were light in 

 the forequarters and flanks, but 



(2) They produced a long and heavy fleece of coarse wool, 

 and were withal a very rugged and hardy breed. 



V. How improvement was effected. 



(1) Improvement was at first secured by the introduction 

 of the Leicester cross, which soon extended to all the flocks 

 of the breed. 



(2) This cross diminished the size and coarseness of the 



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