MODERN SHEEP : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 63 



In 1854 an interesting article on "Farming in Oxfordshire/' 

 by Mr. Clare Sewell Read, appeared in the Eoyal Agricultural So- 

 ciety's Journal, which read in part: "The present 'glory of the 

 county' the most profitable sheep to the producer, the butcher, 

 and the consumer are the half-bred.s. A more intelligible name 

 for this class of sheep, and one which might be generally used, 

 would be the 'Down-Cotswold.' The Down-Cotswold sheep of this 

 county were originally a cross between the Cotswold ram and Hamp- 

 shire Down ewe, but the cross, having beqn bred from for nearly 



"SHEPHERD BOY* 



H. Arkell & Son's Type of Oxford Ram Recently Shorn. 



twenty years without the infusion of any fresh blood, has become 

 a distinct breed of sheep. . . . The superiority of the Down- 

 Cotswold sheep consists in their retaining the excellences of those 

 celebrated breeds without their defects. Thus they combine the 

 arly maturity, heavy carcass, and ample fleece of the Cotswold 

 with the fine 'wool and mutton of the Downs. . . . For con- 

 suming crops on arable land in hurdles, and for producing a great 

 and rapid supply of the best meat and wool (and this is not only 

 an agricultural but a national advantage) the half-bred sheep 

 (Down-Cotswold, R. E. T.) stand unrivalled/' 



The Oxford is a very prolific breed. Mr. W. H. Treweeke, a 

 well-known English breeder, reports that from the first 100 ewes 

 of his registered flock 194 lambs were dropped. They consisted 

 of nine triplets, seventy-six twins, and fifteen singles. One ewe 

 had three dead lambs, two others had two each, and five lambs died 

 from different causes. Mr. R. J. Stone, the well-known Illinois 



