762 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



Tamworth. This is a "breed whose chief distinguished characteristic is that the color 

 is red. They are very hardy, useful pigs. 



,f,.'\. he native pigs of Ireland are a large kind, with coarse bones, very hardy, and 

 thriving well on scanty food. The ears large, and long, strong hair; some are white, 

 some black and white, and some spotted, but of late they have been very greatly improved 

 by crossing with Berkshire and other varieties, and a large number of useful animals re- 

 sulted; thus a vast amount of cheap and useful food has been produced. 



The foregoing notes on the various breeds of sheep and pigs have been compiled from 

 sketches of the same by the president of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, Sir 

 Brandreth Gibbs, supplemented with information from Mr. Joseph Darby, author of a 

 work on sheep, letters from correspondents, and other trustworthy sources. 



As a proper accompaniment to these notes, I beg to transmit (inclosure No. 13) a de- 

 scriptive volume on the sheep and pigs of Great Britain, of approved value, elegantly 

 bound, and superbly illsutrated with types of the several breeds referred to. 



The foregoing observations, with inclosures accompanying, on the different breeds of 

 sheep and pigs may be found of service at home. 



E. A. MERRITT, 



Consul- General. 



UNITED STATES COXSULATE-GENEKAL, 



London, March 25, 1884. 



COTSWOLD SHEEP. 



REPORT BY H. T. ELV/ES, COLESBORNE PARK, CHELTENHAM. 

 [Inclosure No. 1 in Consul-General Merritt's supplementary report.] 



This breed is one of the oldest in England, and its origin is lost in obscurity, at any 

 rate the district was a celebrated one ibr long-wooled sheep three centuries ago, and 

 though in the beginning of this century Leicester rams were used to correct the coarse- 

 ness of the native breed, there is probably no other in England, except the Southdown, 

 so like in general appearance to its original stock. The Cotswold Hills are a poor, ex- 

 posed district in the west of England, and though the breed has spread into Norfolk, 

 South Wales, and other parts, yet it changes character more or less when ^removed from 

 its native hills. These consist mostly of arable land, cold, clayey, and sticky in winter; 

 rain- fall heavy, from 30 to 45 inches; harvest late, never finished before October; land 

 mostly rented at from 5s. to 15s. per acre. The geological formation is oolite limestone, 

 and this is considered to have much influence in maintaining the true character of the 

 breed. The Cotswold sheep is larger than any other in the world except the Lincoln, 

 which it much resembles in most points, though the wool is not quite so fine on account 

 of the inferiority of the soil and climate. 



The size of old rams is often immense. There are several instances on record of sheep 

 weighing from 80 to 90 pounds per quarter, skinned and dressed. The ordinary weight of 

 sheep a year old when they are usually killed is about 150 pounds; but wethers fed by 

 myself have weighed up to 67 pounds per quarter dead weight, at twenty-one months old, 

 and my lambs which took the cup as the best pen of this breed at the Islington show in 

 December, 1883, weighed alive at ten months old 200 to 206 pounds each, and the dead 

 weight was 33 to 34 pounds per quarter, or within a trifle of two-thirds the live weight. 

 The wool averages through a whole flock, including ewes, about 10 pounds per fleece, clean 

 washed, but individual sheep have clipped as much as 24 pounds. It is long and very 

 strong, suitable for any hard-wearing fabrics, especially horse-girths and blankets, and is 

 worth at the present time about Is. per pound, or \d. less than the finest Lincoln or Lei- 

 cester wool. 



The meat is equal to either of these breeds, but inferior to that of Southdowns or 

 Shropshires, having a tendency to produce fat rather than lean meat. In early maturity, 

 hardiness, endurance of cold and wet the Cotswold is far superior to Lincolns or Leices- 

 ters, and for crossing with other breeds which are deficient in early maturity and fatten- 

 ing qualities is, perhaps, the most valuable in the world. 



All the finest cross-bred sheep in England, notably the Oxford breed, are or have been 

 produced from Hampshire ewes by a Cotswold ram, and it has> been proved that the 

 cross between Merino and Cotswolds are heavier at a year old than pure Merinos at two 

 years old, the wool at the same time being much heavier and coarser. Sandy districts 

 or rich low-lying plains do not suit the pure Cotswold sheep; but as they are never shel- 

 tered in the winter in their own country they can endure a great deal of cold without 



