DOMESTIC BREEDS OF SHEEP. 43 



and "wold," a stretch of upland. It seems that in the early days 

 the Cotswold was a fine-wooled breed, greatly famed for the quality 

 of the wool. Later the sheep that bore the name were a large, 

 coarse-wool breed, of great vigor and constitution. These latter 

 sheep were undoubtedly the stock from which the present Cotswold 

 breed has been developed, but whether the fine-wooled sheep spoken 

 of were more remote ancestors is a question that has not been satis- 

 factorily answered. There are stories that the sheep of this region 

 furnished wool for the Romans 2,000 years ago, but there is prob- 

 ably no more similarity between the modern Cotswolds and these 

 sheep than between the other modern breeds and the ancient types 

 from which they sprung. 



The improvement of the Cotswolds Legan about 1780 by the 

 introduction of Leicester blood, and from this time up until 1820 

 few, if any, flocks escaped an infusion of Bakewell blood. This new 

 blood reduced the size and constitution of the original Cotswolds, 

 but it improved them in form and quality and introduced earlier 

 maturing characteristics. For the last 75 years the Cotswold breed 

 has been kept comparatively pure, but the breed was not awarded 

 a distinct class at the Royal Show until the Battersea meeting of 

 1862. The Smith family, of Bilbury, and the Hewers, of North 

 Leach, were prominent early breeders of Cotswolds. 



In Great Britain the Cotswold is not common outside of its native 

 district. In foreign countries it has found favorable environs, 

 especially in parts of Canada and the United States. Cotswolds 

 have also been exported to Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, 

 and Russia. 



Mr. Christopher Dun, of Albany, N. Y., made an importation of 

 Cotswolds in 1832. Other importations followed, large numbers 

 of these sheep being brought over during the next half century. 

 Fewer importations have been made during the last 25 years. 



Purebred Cotswolds have been registered from almost every State 

 in the Union. Formerly there were a good many flocks in the East, 

 but the breed does not do especially well in this section and they 

 have been largely replaced by other breeds. In the Middle West, 

 Wisconsin has some notable flocks, and this State is one of the 

 strongholds of the breed. In the far West, Oregon and Utah are 

 famous for their excellent flocks. In the Willamette Valley in 

 the former State, Cotswolds are produced that equal in excellence 

 those of the native hills of England. This is the breeding ground 

 for large numbers of rams that are used for crossing upon the Merino 

 ewes of the range, especially in Montana and Idaho. The half- 

 blood sheep are considerably larger than the Merino, and they 

 produce a longer fleece. It is largely the range demand that has 

 caused the breed to become so popular in America. 



