THE COTSWOLD 631 



tendency to a Roman nose, and with curls or locks over the fore- 

 head, often falling to the nostrils. This forelock is a distinctive 

 feature of this breed and is not usually cut off at shearing time. 

 The ears are thick, soft, and of medium size for a large sheep. 

 The back carries the same great breadth as the Leicester and 

 Lincoln, though the body frequently lacks depth and appears leggy, 

 especially behind. The heart girth is often striking, showing much 

 thickness. Fream states that at a show some years ago in England 

 two of the winning two-year-old rams girthed five feet and five feet 

 four inches respectively. The breed ranks well in quality, the bone 

 being strong but not coarse, though heavier than the Leicester, 

 and the skin is naturally a bright cherry pink. In general appear- 

 ance Cotswolds are regarded as especially toplofty and impressive. 

 Professor Wrightson states 1 : 



The Cotswold was often described by the late Professor Coleman, when 

 teaching at the Royal Agricultural College (which is in the Cotswold district 

 of England), 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 ac- 

 companied 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 his opinion 

 carries weight. These faults have been corrected in the best flocks there can 

 be no doubt, but they exist in second-rate animals, as is most evident in rough 

 weather, when the animals are viewed at a disadvantage. 



The size of the Cotswold is large, ranking very close to the 

 Lincoln and often equaling it. A mature ram in breeding condi- 

 tion should weigh from 250 to 275 pounds and the ewe from 200 

 to 225. Shaw and Heller give 350 pounds for the ram and 200 to 

 250 for the ewe, while Coffey places the weight of the ram at 275 

 to 300 and the ewe at 180 to 225. The fact is a 3OO-pound sheep 

 is comparatively large, and this and heavier weights are with rare 

 exceptions associated with high condition. 



The Cotswold as a mutton sheep is rather ordinary. Lambs up 

 to eight or ten months of age produce a very good grade of meat, 

 but in the yearling wether or mature sheep the fiber lacks in quality, 

 being long and coarse, and the per cent of external fat on the 

 well-fed animals is too great. The present-day demand is for a 



1 Sheep: Breeds and Management, p. 31. London, 1895. 



