Comparative Fattening Qualities of Sheep. 193 



the animals of largest increase, and which were the fattest, es- 

 pecially on the outside of the frame, gave on the average the 

 least proportion of inside or loose fat. The 10 sheep of medium 

 increase gave upon the whole the largest proportion of loose fat ; 

 though, owing to a large amount in 2 of the animals of smallest 

 increase, the mean of these is higher than that of the former. 



In fact, the more the original character of the large, rapidly 

 growing Cotswold sheep prevailed, the greater was the propor- 

 tion of fat on the outside of the carcass, and the coarser was the 

 mutton. On the other hand, the quality was the best the less 

 there was of tendency to excessive fat on the carcass, and the 

 greater the proportion on the kidneys, and of inside fat generally. 



It has been well said, that the Cotswold is not so much the 

 butcher's, or gentleman's, as the poor man's sheep — supplying as 

 it does, when sold as meat, a small proportion of bone and a 

 large proportion of fat — but yielding to the butcher comparatively 

 little profit in the shape of tallow- cake and loose fat. Whether or 

 not the Cotswold is the farmer s sheep is, however, a question to 

 which no unconditional answer can be given. This must depend 

 upon many local circumstances, such as the character of the 

 land, and of the farming adapted, and also the character of the 

 demand. As to the question of demand, it is probable that 

 wherever quality of mutton has much influence on its price, and 

 this rather than quantity is most sought after, the Cotswold and 

 other white-faced sheep will, other things being equal, not be so 

 profitable as their character as rapid and early fatteners, upon a 

 given amount of food, would, at first sight, lead us to suppose. 

 But we shall recur to the question of price further on. 



As in the case of the Hampshire and Sussex sheep (and of 

 most animals which have been killed at home after having been 

 fed under experiment, and, indeed, of others also) we have, as 

 already stated, taken the weights of all the separate internal 

 parts, or " offal," of the 20 Cotswold sheep. We reserve, how- 

 ever, any further points connected with this subject until we have 

 opportunity of considering all the facts which we have collected 

 relating to it. Indeed it would be out of place to go into them 

 at any length just now. 



We have found, then, by an examination of the particulars of 

 the dead iceights of the Cotswold sheep, that they gave a heavier 

 carcass in a given time than either the Hampshire or Sussex 

 sheep — a somewhat heavier proportion of carcass to live weight — 

 a considerably less proportion of loose or inside fat, but a con- 

 siderably larger amount of fat on the outside of the frame. 



We now come to the question of the money result of this 

 experiment upon the fattening qualities of the Cotswold sheep. 



As already stated, the experiment was concluded on April 

 17 th, and the whole of the sheep were weighed on that day. 



VOL. XIII. O 



