THE SHEEP. 179 



The Cotswold Sheep. — The Cotswold is a large breed of sliecp, with a 

 lono- and abundant fleece, and the ewes are very prolific and good 

 nurses. Formerly tlicy were bred only on the hills, and fatted in the 

 valleys of the Severn and the Thames; but with the inclosure of the 

 Cotswold Hills and the improvement of their cultivation they have been 

 reared and fatted in the same district. They have been extensively 

 crosvsed with the Leicester sheep, by which their size and fleece have 

 been somewhat diminished, but tlieir carcasses considerably improved, 

 and their maturity rendered earlier. The wethers are now sometimes 

 fattened at fourteen months old, when they weigh from fifteen to twen- 

 ty-four pounds per quarter, and at two years old increase to twenty or 

 thirty pounds. The wool is strong, mellow, and of good color, though 

 rather coarse, six to eight inches in length, and from seven to eight 

 pounds per fleece. The superior hardihood of the improved Cotswold 

 over the Leicester, and their adaptation to common treatment, together 

 with the prolific nature of the ewes and their abundance of milk, have 

 rendered them in many places rivals of the New Leicester, and have 

 obtained for them, of late years, more attention to their selection and 

 general treatment, under which management still farther improveuKMit 

 appears very probable. They have also been used in crossing other 

 breeds, and, as before noticed, have been mixed with the Kampshire 

 Downs. It is, indeed, the improved Cotswold that, under the term new 

 or improved Oxfordshire sheep, are so frequently the successful candi- 

 dates for prizes off'ered for the best long-wooled sheep at some of the 

 principal agricultural meetings or shows in the kingdom. The quality 

 of the mutton is considered superior to that of the Leicester, the tailow 

 being less abundant, with a larger development of muscle or flesh. We 

 may, therefore, regard tliis breed as one of established reputation, and 

 extending itself throughout every district of the country. 



The thevlots. — This breed has greatly extended itself throughout the 

 mountains of Scotland, and in many instances supplanted the bl-ick- 

 faced breed ; but the change, though in many cases advantageous, has 

 in some instances b(;en otherwise, the latter being somewhat hardier, 

 and more capable of subsisting on heathy pasturage. They are, how- 

 ever, a hardy race, well suited for their native pastures, bearing wiili 

 comparative impunity the storms of winter, and thriving well on poor 

 keep. Though less hardy than the black-faced sheep of Scotland, they 

 are more profitable as respects their feeding, making more flesh on an 

 equal quantity of food, and making it quicker. They have white faces 

 and legs, open countenances, lively eyes, without horns. The ears are 

 large, and somewhat singular, and there is much space between the cais 

 and eyes. The carcass is long; the back straight; the shoulders rather 

 light; the ribs circular; and the quarters good. The legs are small in 

 the bone and covered with wool, as well as the body, with the excep- 

 tion of the face. The Cheviot wether is fit for the butcher at three 

 years old, and averages from twelve to eighteen pounds per quarter — 

 the mutton being of a good quality, though inferior to the South-Down, 

 and of less flavor than' the black-faced. "The Cheviot, though a moun- 

 tain breed, is quiet and docile, and easily managed. The wool is coarse 

 and inferior to that of the South-Down. 



