VARIETIES OF SHEEP AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS. 1019 



to allow them to shift entirely for themselves in the matter of food. To 

 show accurately the form of this admirable breed, we give an il- 

 lustration of an ewe, and also of a buck, showing their appearance after 

 shearing. 



In the hill region of Virginia, and other parts of the South and West, 

 the Cotswolds are yearly increasing in favor. The testimony of many 

 Southern planters and farmers is decidedly in their favor. One statement, 

 that of a prominent farmer of Clark county, Va., must suffice. His 

 testimony is as follows: It is far more profitable to keep the different 

 varieties of mutton breeds, than the fine wools, or Merino breed in this 



5EST IiMPuKTKD KAiM 1 Gt'imani. Age 2 Yeara 

 The property of J. C. van Rooyen, Esq., Bornman's Drift. — Photographed expressly for this work. 



portion of Virginia. I say this from my own experience, and that of 

 many intelligent gentlemen with whom I have conversed. The Cotswold 

 sheep, and its crosses with the South-Down, are less liable to diseases of 

 all kinds; they are more prolific, better nurses, and less liable to lose their 

 lambs than the Merino. The lambs are more vigorous and hardy; then 

 add their early maturity, their fitness for market at eighteen months old, 

 and their almost double value when in market, and you have advantages 

 which far outweigh the additional amount of food which the mutton 

 sheep may consume in proportion to his size. 



