634 



SHEEP 



grass, roots, and grain may be grown. From its quiet tempera- 

 ment and heavy weight, like other long-wool breeds, it may be 

 fed to great advantage on rape or turnips for a limited time, on 

 restricted areas within hurdles. 



The breeding qualities of the Cotswold are fairly good. Some 

 authorities rank the breed as superior in this respect. None of 

 the large breeds, however, are strongly fecund, though they are 

 excellent nurses and produce large lambs. British writers credit 



FIG. 299. A Cotswold ewe, champion at the 1918 Ohio State Fair. Owned by 

 P. W. Hintz, Clyde, Ohio. From photograph by the author 



the Cotswold with about 100 per cent living lambs, twins being 

 the exception rather than the rule. 



The Cotswold as a wool producer holds high rank. The fleece 

 is of a lustrous character with a tendency toward coarseness, and 

 with twelve months' growth may attain a length of 1 2 to 1 4 inches, 

 though 8 is more commonly the case. The fleece is in somewhat 

 large, open ringlets, rather than the finer curl of the Leicester, 

 and is graded on the market as braid or low-quarter blood-combing 

 wool. Hawkesworth states that "among manufacturers no other 

 strong wool is held in such high estimation. It is one of the very 

 brightest of the demi-lusters, but is not considered a pure luster 

 like the Lincoln or Leicester. It is about the curliest of the British 

 wools." Its great value lies in its exceptional silkiness, softness, 



