64 Sheep-Farming 



Cotswold and the new Leicester. The influence of 

 the Leicester infusion was to reduce the size of the 

 sheep, refine the bone, and add to the mutton points 

 of the carcass, while it also made coarser the fleeces 

 and increased the liability to diseases attendant on 

 a weakened constitution. 



Appearance of the Cotswold. — The typical Cots- 

 wold is a sheep of noble bearing, massive in structure, 

 affluent in wool-production, and having withal a 

 commanding presence. With legs planted squarely 

 so as to truly show the top and bottom lines of a well- 

 developed body structurally exact, and also so that 

 the head may be given the natural pose and carriage 

 with the forelock drooping gracefully, the appearance 

 of the representative of this breed is undoubtedly 

 grand. The face may be white or gray or brown, but 

 short in proportion to the rest of the physique. The 

 forehead should be broad, and from this wide base 

 the forelock should droop long and gracefully in fine 

 spirals. The neck, while short, should spring up 

 rather than straight away from the shoulder. The 

 latter should be flat and well packed, and the back 

 should, to maintain the reputation of the breed, be 

 even, broad, and solid. The width should run back 

 level over the hips and to the end of the rump. 

 Oftentimes fat accumulates in this region, which de- 

 tracts from the evenness that should be characteristic 

 of the breed. The profusion of long wool over all 

 parts, finer in fiber than in the instance of most long- 



