EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 369 



necks and square of bulk and boue n ascribed to the Cotswold sheep by 

 Camden. 



It is difficult to reconcile these opinions, nor indeed is it necessary; 

 the Cotswolds beyond the memory of our day have been a long-wooled 

 race and valuable principally for their wool. They were large-framed, 

 coarse, slow-feeding sheep; very hardy, and accustomed to travel in 

 search of the short herbage which invariably prevails on limestone hills. 



When Bakewell made his great improvement on the Leicester sheep 

 in the middle of the last century his improved sheep soon extended 

 throughout central England, and about 1780 crossed the Cotswold as 

 well as the other long-wooled sheep of Gloucestershire, a system of 

 crossing that was pursued so extensively that but a short time elapsed 

 when there did not perhaps exist a single Cotswold flock which was 

 not more or less mixed in blood with the New Leicester breed. It re- 

 sulted in diminishing the bulk of body of the old Cotswold and lessen- 

 ing the produce of wool, but hi giving to the animal a greater delicacy 

 of form. About 1820, however, the Cotswold breeders thought that 

 their flocks were declining in carcass and fleece and becoming less 

 fitted for the climate of their native hills, and a preference set in for 

 the native stock; crossing was generally suspended, and the former 

 model of the breed adhered to. 



The feeding qualities of the Cotswolds have been subjected to careful 

 experiments by Mr. Lawes, who found that in comparison with Downs 

 they consumed the least food to produce a given amount of increase, 

 and made the greatest progress in a given time. The fat is principally 

 external and the flesh is coarse and open. Under a liberal treatment, 

 with good care and attention, fed on ground oats, dust oil cake, and 

 followed by turnips, the lambs make great progress, and at eleven and 

 twelve months old are fit for the English market, with a weight of 

 22 to 25 pounds a quarter. 



These sheep, standing rather high upon the legs, and having grand 

 heads, present an imposing appearance. Their fleeces are either white, 

 gray, or mottled. White predominates, but slight variations neither 

 indicate impurity nor detract from appearance. Mr. Coleman cites an 

 instance where some years ago a flock of gray- faced sheep were bred, 

 and at the annual ram sales every animal was more or less colored. 

 For the purpose of crossing with the Hampshire ewe, gray-faced rams 

 were preferred, the produce becoming darker in the face in consequence. 

 The head of the Cotswold is large, wide across the forehead, the eyes 

 full and prominent. The head should be well wooled, particularly the 

 forehead and cranium, long locks hanging down over the face; if the 

 eyes and upper part of the nose are covered, so much the better. The 

 eftect of the lovelock is pleasing and adds to the general good style of 

 the sheep. The neck should be long and moderately thick, especially 

 t at the base and where it joins the head. The head should be carried 

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