= 
: ERRAERESESEE | 
SF RGER ER | 
a 
a, BRR RSA SRS ERNA 
Apu. 7, £860.} THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE AND AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 321 
a = Sy year the) There is ano A 
aeeoea nt, as the public taste | the dam ; moreover having to purchase ewes every year the reas cM sis another family of ‘these La oh ts 
ft 
wustuctorily cise black leg and a dark face. demand is increased and the supply is diminishe a. This annó | d ced b; 
snows a donde preferenco =. ter sheep is one of the desirable, for with td and flourishing popu- | crossing the ‘ Whittington Heath’ sheep with the a 
“The Cotsw on Glouceste P lation, bringing with it a growing donuna for meat, the breed- | but since speca prizes have poem offered by Ay Sonea 
t of our br ops er ’ the 
ing of sheep cannot be too extensively carried on. Although | of the Royal Agricultural anpi , for Mion 
is of them in the early history of | I may be travelling somewhat out of the record I would observe | breeders have dropped thei rite vious title, made 
oe and Miss Strickland says in her ‘Lives of |in passing that I am aware an objection is raised by some | Soait — with their neighbours : and be "this Shae ot sheep 
country; vol. i, page 449, ‘that there is | farmers to the keeping of a breeding flock, but taking a run | gan somewhat larger, the pri sere dat War 
ee to support the assertion that to | of years pee roont BE i — think i bes a be greatly in favour | Mr. mn Combe, being the winner, Ake ‘aie Myt: sold 
f Henry II., ‘England owes the A such a m has AN in many | Ireland for 1001. The Shropshires have of Tate deservedly 
the breed of sheep for which Cotswold | quarters of neat ng ony it at is calle es flock, with an | found considerable favour ; it was at the Gloucester Meeting 
famous. A few of these animals were introduced by idea ne such a course is more prositable; X certainly may | 1853 where they first comhad notice, some Trost 
Bas boon A a Queen from Spain; and the y baa increased to | be attended with less trouble, but I very much doubt its | beautiful nutia aA exhibited. At Warwick last 
o At bot a oer eed that their wool became kopne I can look round me and find that most of those |year they s siderable numbers, and formed 
If t a bo true thoy T eal pe men RAIE pare wide pening a successful occupation have | one of the rotol sttiadelons of the pte ted 
ved nt troduction to this bee! msive abet and rearers of ee i er 
nee uan ee that m some 300, vente after Edward IV. The. objections. I tare stated to the mode of Eg Thi tyl ae Ox ara pi noe bat th what a t Poems ly 
mission fot 90 some to be sent back Sa Spain. KRA wk described hav Fi n felt by many, a aad b successful efforts ave Et Era reta A ge ut heir P ie rons in 1857 
ave per ry ani ee eE ae wer at a been madé by the men of Shropshire, Oxfordshire, and o ga 
tes unenclosed Cotswo! i es ut sincé | districts to produce sheep that uni “oa well-known and ac- “They were ori Agati roduc a by crossing the Hamp- 
the adapted For tho Bla d and its better cultivation, a great | knowledged good qualities of the Down with the larger framed | shire and in o originally na Se Mdben ow 5 ith a Cots: 
ape © in this of bore has taken place ;” there is ai heavier fleeced long wools. What t has been done can be | wold ram— Page ‚commonly the eval for it war e increased 
little doubt this was effected by the use of the Leicester, which | done again. If it was possible for Mr. Bakewell by a judicious | size, and the putting the crosses together, by constant atten- 
without diminishi size Improved mor quality, and gave | selection from the various dona) wools to produce the new | tion and sid a most successful result has been accom- 
emagreater aptitude tofatten. Among phish eben! niy Lolesatet 3 for the Hampshire men by the use of the Sussex | plished, producing a kind of sheep that possess with uni- 
on for improving his, breed w re Messr change the ch aractoristics of their native horned Prmit ty of character and hardiness of constitution; large frames, 
Charles Large, William Garne, W. Hewer, and C. 1. Barton, breet aie shal ike it is not possible at the i ti i i 
To Mr. Robert ( S mation. Amor breeder, T am indebted | our einda knowledge an faci uce 
ong other observations he | resultsequal to those who have gone before patirt igs eon in Oxfordshire, and Mr. Druce, ina letter to the Journal of the 
se newer i 
g, producing a of |h igh a autho’ rity, a RETAS who is F omypgdatee of this ub. Dei: and pera sheep, and with the ordinary skill of sheep 
mutton and wool at a ol allude to Mr. Spooner, who has writte! ost excellent p: | farming, I find no difficulty to keep the form and size of 
see in th t flocks reo of 16 sone ire only 12 Mons] upon the Cross reeding 0 of Sheepin thel last tJ ARI i the Royal | | the mak asit should be, the wool of a valuable quality and 
i le | Agricultural Society of En; wd nd, and I will take this op ppor- | | not deficient in quantity, and I maintain that the}good qualities 
tuni f saying that for i cross-bred animals on 
fa ding no > Tuce 
be made as old ‘sheep i is Morton, I know, did his best to make itso. I trust now that it | his statement by producing many extraordinary sheep at the 
ha ‘Christmas Cattle Market oe flee into other hands it may be conducted in like | Smithfield Club, where he has often been successful ; also 
eighing 43 stones or 86 lbs. per quarter, for which he obtained Mr. Spooner says in one of his conclusions bearing | last year at Warwick, by takir ize i ra 
$l. 10s. The average weight of an ordinary flock when fit for upon: “this —_ nt, ‘ Although the benefits = most evident in | i ing 
the butcher at 14 or 15 months old is from 12 to 13 stones, and | the first c oss, after which from pairing the -bred animals | Hi: i ph D engt 
the weight of wool of the whole flock would einen to 8 lbs. | the defects re one breed or the other or ‘the incongruities of | now writes of them: ‘This particular locality 
hi cu A ending Bot poth are tually breaking out, yet unless the character-/on the edge of the Cotswolds, and embrac 
n ti wi Ky be soils, ing i i 
i: 
nt. mand Í bré 
Grating. f and perhaps. it may be dabi idered one of our best | altogether. Ths et ot 
sheep for this pur, ; I think it pore likely our friends on | cipal breeds.’ Mr. Spoon th of 
the tawolds will retain their or pai for perhaps in on | was produced from crossing in the first instance, the Cotswold | for market, weighing upon an ataria 
other of England can they be so successfully bred. and Lincoln have been improved by the eee and the | fleece varying from 7 to 10 lbs. The sede a oe re E 
- Hamps i N CTO: an ‘0 rod at proportion of twins.” He adds, ‘It 
ih b Sock Ei ope framed oe er he Southdown; and as re latter there is | is se Freed is attacked with giddiness or water upon 
a do a valent with som 
of pas er blood. 
n some min 
ro ns. m has been o) 
aies who is well known to many of you | this it would appear the word ‘pure’ is out of place when speak- | at Baker Street in the cross-bred class, having taken five Ist 
reads a paper here next month, thus speaks|ing of any breed, and therefore I prefer to use the term es in succession, besides nine m ae nd several 2d prizes, 
thy present impr srat, Lincoln sheep artake : th i at it t is 25 yours since he began breeding this description 
posliinia 0 terol ang | Agricu center aries at Chester and War viz., the | of sheep, by crossing Hampshire Down ewes with a Cotswold 
Vii 
both Co 
and nobility of | ‘established ram, and considers them for his pelipeboariood the most rent- 
toe the ae a frame 
ore = 2 Ppeti with the henry’ of flesh, com ee “ Having t has. introduced the subject of crossing, | pa: yin g Sa = — m no Hiet of ee ee a 
o orm, uty oi pope and propensity to fatten o roduce better quality of mutton and more o: an the 
the other ; but they far e ceed eit her Fh ead ei I shall now proe eed to speak of ble” posit sheep that ha Ox fordshire Downs ; his tegs when shorn will average 11 stone, 
U; good | mana og thi sir wes arrived at the honourable Hees tion e1ng | and his entire clip of wool about 7 lbs. per fleece. I will only 
1 bre add one other testimony, that of a large breeder, Mr. Joseph 
e men will dee Roberts, who says, ‘ 1 have kept cross-breds, now Oxfordshire 
iain er: y o =e a oubt very im me to Seman y she peg with Downs, for 27 years, 19 at Waterperry on very wet land, where 
80 wel ais ibla.” a a are instances Oxfordshire men; but I cannot allow them art com- | leng-woolled sheep could not be kept at a profit; we could 
“Ai hic! b-t se sheep have at- i ntil site er the Canterbury Show, "where, ER repeated | make a fair return from cross-breds; I have been here (Cas- 
5 a le applications that v useful but irresponsible and slow- | well) eight years with the same sort on land some persons 
3 ng tution, the they are Taoa for wold 1 My 
per q quarter ; aring T its. pe per qi will Boab avail | wool ` last j ; I consider 
r. Robert Smith, in’ his gok = sae se a at the War- and shéw in such | four to be a satis y average. T generally vot my tegs in 
wick Show, states that ‘he has wn 14 months’ old lamb- m entitle them for gn geri April, a g from ba er es, a few even heavier, and 
hones gs sla aughte tered at Lin na ak April fair, 30 together averaging omen hed bi this | my ewes sass! from 12 to 17 stones. I 
. per quarter, and 100 together clipping 14 lbs. Ss — 
ire, id pe locality be brou; 
aia wb adh aneha oom on prantios Yor paca oe rig vey have no ot Cotswol dine! in their 1 ity be brought 
p eig 
ave th for the butcher Li 
o 
a gentleman B es kindly red me wii ormation upon 
H = oint a the “Th y “Meire was the first to improve upon Oxfordshi re Down ram exhibited at our Royal Shows was at 
ie use of 
te 
three years, an 
bar otra of his Bhan cing te . ren 3 them = havı s pel ~ 
er 130 sa year at entri: us 
. pe! Wojghod altogether 130 breeders con- oire | Haiii fair for competition when the 
wa gdmirablo quality, having less fat, and a | no doubt may be 5 upo var ro es coger dil of the improved Council of the Royal a aer atone Society determine to place 
tion a e grained lean flesh, than the Leicester. ire shies carers te oe T en- | them upon the same footing as their rivals the Shropelires 
bese breeders, like the Cotswolds and | lock Mee hab tant he reverting | U is the case oer. will have to compete with an 
to any of the nage og tat Bat by 1 pesca the a animals | old established pee a ampshires, a state of things alike 
from his own received a somewhat | unsal er ho h exhibitors and judges. They have 
account o! ofthe origin of pg Shropshire sheep. Itis |the last few years s Spread ost ap idly in na tenant and 
ho is regak wt hres county, but | distant Bes bg s, and a very large number of ram: ually 
cc left it emen tig in eo disposed of not onl 7E private contait but by gore at 
d ot LAA some extracts from his Sorter! He states: ond Oxford Cattle Market, not a few finding their way into 
b born in the county and accustomed mpshire and Shropshire. In ae ter I received from Mr. 
attraction at Linco y long as I have known any, there cannot be a Sone axton, the rell wn of Bicester, who 
So much for the long- -woolled breeds. Ha touched A nestion aed in n favour of PaF pia pe i tegik e always | sells by far the greatest heiir he says, ‘although I 
upon’ the history merits of the leading of ed eep to hav a breed of | find an annual increase in md number pte for sale, 
sheep, I now ieoa that of my paper upon e on Fo ie ‘bt 5 as its Sekakte they | I find more than a corres A oseere F 
whic! maton scree turn. have entirely disappeared ; short-le; square- | I shall dims my remarks gone this breed by 
“The Progress ma ade in this . | framed, —, ee th dark oa a face and egs, | again pr fort =- monk Smith’s age of the Piaggio Sue, 
t and occasionally sm: orns curling close into head. |a very high authority upon such matters. e writes, ‘The 
ma.” by ‘their competition at the Smith. Qdly. The Ryeland sheep which in early days was seiner of | Oxford Downs date from the year 1833, when a neat well made 
b. the c lands in the neighbourhood of Bridgnorth and | Cotswold ram was used with Hampshire ewes; at that period 
ign 
“Through as kindness of Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, I am the southern districts of Shropshir ie was a larger animal, | severa ders tried the same experiment, which by 
its origin uent attention has resulted he establishment of this 
enabled to £ Shro) posers powed by | subse 
first s-breds i ag butnotso compact as fag Firad ‘rom om these two parent stocks I aed paying = of sheep,’ a A. and he see 4 Baia me exce soliet sheep 
During the first. nine years thi - | crossing chiefly with the Sussex.or Hampshire Down, and then | © ree ve been shown atthe various meetings, but 
_ bu the kt Geers oo 4 otk bore cand any other ani cme bonedes tooight pest suited a either ieie caror A has ween Sh e most paoa ig the ya of the 
a 17, whil to increase size or rem an; er t.” cular | Smithfie how. t wethers the: ve 
fraction 4 e the ears fret ‘the fi first ~ onatate y p pertice UETA while the prize ram nd pet beve ag 
~ hine years 19 pens, t of Shro} in their superiority over any other 
a ree auring tlio last sight beui P i ; they onna FANTE DE OADE by Mr. a er ET into the bistory and merita of 
only reached to 17. Ido not intend to into the uestion of | breed in their own county ; 
ods Ser Me abst be admitted that the | at Àl 5 ao paa a tution, excellent quality of. m ong prolific breeders. 
gre inne EE] AEA E they hare Bcd well Kept will weigh wise are well scquainted with them, for this reason, they have 
i an , but ti press nt calbalated. i eiei prices so well 
up for the i cial a 
for the in consum per q 
great diff. rence of “une mmption: of el Ope is a wey nian MEO r the breeders of of Shropshire re; thoy 
man; tending that 
yo 4 - eroas; th oy i i not esr to = g ssa themselves Mat the. only P anit they | bear to to the Ss to eat ah a Bi i pralina 
mode pursued is to use a long-woolled ram u South original Shropshire are dark faces and legs ; they now pride them “The these sheep, particularly those 
Hara or other dark-faced ewes. This < Treglia selves in exhibiting some well fatted shearlings weighing of the “Oxtorishire, rite that they can produce animals 
= hort aei e | upon times 22 to 24 lbs. por quarter ter, but this is not general.» beny = ergs a than oa to Š 
-woolled ewes, for the uce general: » cross $ to be found in the | wool, ‘a ear aptitude are 
= ne Mee basen, ee ape ad kag! a peat een of the ety or “Corve | obtained by eanienng the established 
breeds, such 
great desideratu’ cross they | Hampshire or Southdown ewe, with a Cotswold bo othe Ber 
>a ap = ST the mene. bap b as the Ryeland cross aa ase woolled rami. If tt na that the advantages I have indicated 
A » 
tel 
many this system is, that as all Da etry, and Iam inform 
Somalis the bni te raa into the a thair class. The ““Ryelan ese breeds must be highly desira and per- 
tea are mostly the drafts of other oes rede ires are pec vath-eastern division of the rae not their least valuable quality is that the breeder who is 
on pay running the risk of introducing all they are larger, higher standing animals, with ious to obtain the sa 1 ot dri 
his farm; besides thi county ; { 4 nor of so yeu ay ee tis marke et for his ewes. Probably some may be 
hard 
the iabe, sordo taking after the sire’ sad aiormity, in | opor feeca, but not too aptitude to fiie western division, | disappointed with my treatment of this subject, but after due 
