THE OXFORD DOWN 



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a dark brown face and legs, is wooled over the forehead, and is a 

 typical mutton sheep. However, under average conditions, the 

 Oxford Down is lighter brown than the Shropshire, is not so 

 heavily wooled over the head, though with longer, looser fore- 

 lock, has a larger frame and more scale, with a longer, more 

 open fleece. In early days the Oxford face was speckled or 

 mottled brown and white or gray, and the fleece was rather long 



Fig. 182. An Oxford ram, two years of age, imported in 1900 by George 

 McKerrow & Sons of Wisconsin, a first-prize winner at six state fairs that 

 year and five times sweepstakes ram. Photograph from the National 

 Stockman and Farmer 



and open, quite suggestive of the long-wool type, as might be 

 expected, considering the Cotswold blood used. The modern 

 Oxford, however, has been bred to be uniformly brown in face, 

 and the fleece has been bred shorter and more compact, although 

 at the present time this is essentially the largest of the middle- 

 wool breeds. The head of the Oxford is rarely wooled much 

 below the forehead, and the ears tend to be somewhat long and 

 thin and free of wool. As a rule Oxfords show the distinctive 



