THE COTSWOLD 633 



IS Cotswold yearling wethers, averaging six hundred and twenty- 

 four days old, weighing 292 pounds, made an average daily gain 

 of .46 pound ; while 25 wether lambs two hundred and seventy-six 

 days old, weighing 188 pounds, made an average daily gain of .68 

 pound. Henry and Morrison also give records showing average 

 daily gain, from birth, of fat wethers at the American Fat-Stock 

 Show at Chicago from 1879 to 1882 inclusive, in which yearlings 

 averaged .41 pound daily and lambs .89 pound. 



The Cotswold crossbred or grade is often a very excellent mut- 

 ton sheep, and on the Western range, notably in Montana and 

 Idaho, many Cotswold rams have been used on grade Merino ewes 

 to distinct advantage from both mutton and wool point of view. 

 Professor Hawkesworth states ^ that for crossing with the Merino 

 the Cotswold has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages 

 are that the progeny are exceptionally well suited for the frozen- 

 mutton trade, as the two types appear to nick or blend well to- 

 gether, producing a well-balanced carcass covered with a most 

 valuable crossbred wool of exceptional quality. He further says 

 that for early maturity few crossbreds equal this one. The serious 

 disadvantage in this case is that Merino ewes frequently die after 

 dropping the lambs. The tendency is for the lamb to inherit the 

 large head of the Cotswold, which results in the ewe's giving birth to 

 the lamb with difficulty. At one time Cotswolds were used exten- 

 sively in crossbreeding in the Midland counties in England, but not 

 so much in recent years. An anonymous English writer makes the 

 following comment,^ which is interesting from a British viewpoint : 



These sheep are great feeders and become very fat, and are in consequence 

 not a butcher's sheep ; but when crossed with other sheep that suitably nick 

 with them, the produce is remarkably good mutton. This year rams have aver- 

 aged 1 2 guineas and upwards. They are much sought after by Norfolk farmers, 

 who cross them with a Suffolk ewe, the result being a capital butcher's sheep. 

 The breed is also noted as having produced a magnificent sheep when mated 

 with a Hampshire Down. 



The Cotswold as a grazing sheep ranks high where pastures are 

 abundant, but on hilly or rough land it is not a satisfactory breed. 

 It does best on the fertile plains of America, where plenty of 



1 Alfred Hawkesworth, Australian Sheep and Wool. Sydney, 1906. 



2 live Stock Journal ^^^^f(mdiifmimhofm7- 



