662 SHEEP INDUSTRY OP THE TJNITTD STATES 



open fleeces of the large imported varieties, and the effect was satis- 

 factory. The cross-bred ewes were bred on the 1st of October, after 

 they were one year old, to an imported Leicester ram of large, full, 

 round carcass, and a heavy fleece of long wool. To insure activity 

 and hardiness, and finely marbled mutton of high flavor, an imported 

 Southdown ram was used upon the ewes of this class with a result so 

 satisfactory that Col. Scott claimed that "the wethers of this class 

 were the delight of the epicure, while the value of the fleece was not 

 diminished, as much being gained by increasing the number of fibers to 

 the square inch as was lost in the length of them." The next cross was 

 by a ram which seemed to possess many of the qualities that were 

 desirable to establish and perpetuate in the flock. He was three-fourths 

 Cotswoldand one-fourth Southdown — a large, active, hardy sheep, with 

 a thick, heavy fleece, qualities which his progeny possessed in an 

 eminent degree. This infusion of blood was followed by two successive 

 crosses of pure-blood Gotswolds, and the next cross was by a very fine 

 full-blooded Oxfordshire ram, of remarkable softness and silkiness of 

 fleece. Those were all large animals, with round barrels, broad backs, 

 and full briskets. They added to the flock still more weight of carcass 

 and fleece, while the beautiful appearance and delicate flavor of the 

 mutton was not impaired. In the fall of 1853, a part of the flock was 

 bred to an imported Cotswold ram, and the rest of the flock was bred 

 to a Kentucky-raised Cotswold ram directly decended from imported 

 stock. It was from these crosses that Col. Scott produced a flock 

 which he described in 1854 : 



Their fleeces are soft, tliiclc, and long, thougli not so long as tlie pure Cotswold, 

 l)iit they are mucli tliicker, wliicli gives them a perfect protection against the snows 

 and cold winds and rains of winter and spring, the sheep being perfectly hardy, 

 requiring no protection nor shelter, except what nature has thrown around them. 

 The cross with our common or native sheep adapts them perfectly to the soil, cli- 

 mate, and grasses of this country, on which account, together with the frequent 

 crossing, they are strangers to the diseases known to other flocks. The same native 

 cross, I suppose, insures in them a prolific character, which is sadly wanting in the 

 large imported varieties, flocks of which are still comparatively rare here, though 

 some individuals have lieen in the country over twenty years. The Kentucky sheep 

 rarely fail to raise as many lambs, in proportion to the number of ewes, as the com- 

 mon or native varieties, and sometimes more, though they have not had the advan- 

 tage of a regular shepherd or attendant. These sheep are also as thrifty as it is 

 desired that they should be. In summer they are often moved from pasture to pas- 

 ture, so that they may eat the weeds and grasses which have been refused by other 

 stock, while in winter a short blue-grass pasture is all -which they commonly 

 require. 



After the early Saxon cross Col. Scott bred to no horned sheep, and 

 always used rams of the purest blood he could obtain. His course of 

 breeding and choice of rams up to 1854 resulted in a fine mutton sheep; 

 but there was a tendency to variation which was tacitly acknowledged 

 by Col. Scott, some years later, in this sentence: 



The tendency of all improved breeds of all domestic animals to relapse to their 

 original status when they are neglected or abused, is no proper discouragement to 



