WOOL growers' association, 381 



bandry should be ia the possession of every owner of sheep. He says : " This 

 breed has become so common in the United States, and has been bred so exten- 

 sively without fresh importations of new blood that it may well be adopted as a 

 native sheep. Many excellent flocks are now self-sustaining, and under their 

 American nativity lose nothing of their original excellence. The Maple Shade 

 flock, originally the property of Mr. John D. Wing, of New York, bat some years 

 ago divided and now owned by other parties, is one of the many instances of the 

 successful acclimatization of this most valuable sheep. The Cotswold has an 

 ancient origin or history. It is said to have been introduced into England from 

 Spain, by Eleanora, Queen of Henry II., of England, in the 12th century. Although 

 there is nothing more than tradition to support this, yet there is some corroboration 

 of it in the fact that in Spain there has long existed, and is now, a breed of coarse, 

 long-wooled sheep not unlike the original Cotswolds in some respects. It is known, 

 however, that in fifty years after this early date the wool of the Cotswold sheep was 

 a source of material wealth, and was jealously guarded by law. Three centuries 

 after this (in 1467) permission was granted by the English king, Edward IV., as a 

 royal favor' to export some of these sheep to Spain. They were originally very 

 coarse animals, with thick, heavy fleeces, well adapted to their home upon the 

 bleak, exposed Cotswold hills. So valuable and staple a breed could not long re- 

 main without improvement. Naturally the sweet, nutritious herbage of the lime- 

 stone soil covering these hills favored this improvement, and as the pastures be- 

 came enclosed, and agriculture improved in character, the flocks improved with it. 

 When the Leicester became the most popular sheep of England it was made to 

 assist in this course of improvement of the Cotswolds, It gave io the breed a better 

 quality, a smoothness and refinement, and a greater aptitude to fatten, while it did 

 not less; n its ancient hardiness of constitution. The modf rn Cotswold is still capa- 

 ble of enduring hardships and exposure, and is at home on all sorts of soil. It 

 produces a large carcass of excellent mutton and a heavy fleece of valuable comb- 

 ing wool, adapted, by its peculiar character, for a cla.ss of goods of wide consump- 

 tion, it being in demand for various manufactures from the small matters, such as 

 worsted dress braids up to various kinds of cloths for men and women garments. 

 The breed is large, and matures at an early age. 



A full grown sheep exhibited- at a Christmas cattle market in England, dressed 

 344 lbs. or 80 lbs. per quarter. The weight of the fleece should average. S lbs. for a 

 flock of all kinds, and some of our naturalizid flecks surpass this; ii.any ewes have 

 shorn 11 lbs. each. The fleece of Champion of England weighed 18 lbs. and the 

 fleeces of the ewes of the same flock Aveighed from 11 to 16 lbs. The famous ram 

 Golden Fleece, owned by Mr. Wing, of New York, sheared, in 1867, 19 lbs. 4^ oz. 



The description of a well-bred Cotswold is as follows: The face and legs are 

 white, but some timt s dashes of brown or gray, derived from the original stock, may 

 be found on both face and legs. The head is strong and massive, without horns, 

 and having a thick forelock of wool upon the forehead. The neck and forequarters 

 are not so square and heavy, nor the brisket so prominent as in the best Leicesters, 

 but the hind quarters are square, full, and broad, and the thigh sclid and heavy. 

 The back is straight, and broad, and the ribs well sprung, giving a round body; 

 the flanks are deep, the legs of moderate length, and the bone not so fine as in the 



