COTSWOLDS. 31 



of the Cotswold indicates a disposition to grey or light brown, 

 and the same appearance is to be noticed upon the shanks, 

 which may point back to crossing with the original fine- 

 woolled race. 



All Cotswold sheep men will remember Mr Smith's (Bibury) 

 grey-faced Cotswolds, and that they were stated by their 

 owner and breeder to be pure Cotswolds, without any admix- 

 ture of Down blood. A few speckles of grey was not thought 

 to be a drawback a few years ago, whatever the present 

 fashion may be, and hence it is probable that the Cotswold 

 sheep may have originally had a light grey face. 



The Hewers, Lanes, and Games have long been associated 

 with the improvement of the breed of their district, and at 

 the dispersion of Mr. Hewer's famous flock at North Leach, 

 the foundation of more than one prize-taking flock of the 

 present day was laid. Whatever the origin of these sheep, 

 it is certain that for the last sixty years at least they have 

 been kept pure, so that the type is now fixed, and no Cots- 

 wold breeder need fear the imputation that his sheep are of a 

 mixed origin, except in the sense that all our sheep have at 

 some period been improved by crossing. The Cotswold 

 sheep may be described as big and upstanding, and of better 

 carriage than the Leicester or Lincoln. The late Mr. John 

 Algernon Clarke expressed his opinion that a Lincoln sheep 

 should have " no neck," by which he wished to convey the 

 idea of a short thick neck, quickly blending with shoulders 

 and bosom. The Cotswold was often described by the late 

 Professor Coleman, when teaching at the Royal Agricultural 

 College, as a sheep which could " look over a hurdle," that 

 is, carried his head high and well poised on a somewhat erect 

 neck. This is said to be accompanied with a tendency to be 

 " ewe-necked " and low in the rumps, or " down at both ends." 

 as I have heard Professor Coleman repeatedly say. He knew 

 the Cotswold sheep well, and was himself a Cotswold man, 

 so that his opinion carries weight. That these faults have 

 been corrected in the best flocks there can be no doubt, but it 



