1853 . 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
157 
Derby Cow. 
The original breed of cattle in Derbyshire, (England) was long-horned. It was valued for the 
dairy, the cows giving rich milk in considerable quantities. The above cut represents one of the 
cows, taken from Youatt. The breed was not readily disposed to fatten, and on this account has 
given way to the Short-horns. 
very successfully grown in in this country. When well 
bred, their constitution is good, the fleece is of medium 
weight and fineness, they rear fine lambs, and are very 
superior mutton. This breed has no fault, and but one 
deficiency—it does not grow large enough to compete 
with the 
Leicesters. 
This variety of sheep is with many a favorite. There 
are a few flocks in this country under careful culture, 
which can scarcely be surpassed. The elegance of their 
anatominal structure indicates a long course of pure 
breeding, and perhaps an over degree of refinement. 
The system called in-and-in breeding, may be carried 
too far, and cannot be safely practiced but by judicious 
selections by careful and scientific breeders. Purity 
may be preserved at the expense of weight of fleece, 
and strength and vigor of constitution. There remarks 
are suggested by the appearance of the Leicester sheep 
in this country. 
Cots wold. 
I have selected this breed of sheep for my own culti¬ 
vation, as combining more desirable qualities as a mut¬ 
ton sheep, than any other known variety. Its large size 
removes it from all competition except with the Leices¬ 
ter. Compared with them the appearance of the Cots- 
wold indicates a more recent origin, less refinement of 
anatomy, less delicacy of style, equal beauty of form, 
less liability to disease, and that greater vigor of consti¬ 
tution given by the fresh blood of a now and rising race. 
Some of the best of this breed of sheep, are now known 
as New-Oxfordshires. I am keeping both varieties, and 
have yet had no reason to regret my selection. 
They are prolific. —After two years of age they usu¬ 
ally bring twins. The lambs become fat, and are worth 
in autumn five dollars to the butcher. Selected for breed¬ 
ing, the lambs sell at from ten to twenty-five dollars 
each. A gentleman in Canada who had fourteen of this 
class of sheep, informed me that he one year raised from 
them twenty-eight lambs, and sold them for seven 
hundred dollars. 
Their wool is profitable. —The wool of this sheep, 
compared with the Merino, is dry, clean, and less soft. 
The staple is very long. No other sheep produce so 
heavy a fleece of pure wool. Some washed fleeces have 
weighed as high as twenty pounds. A friend in Virgin¬ 
ia informs me that he has sheared from the same sheep, 
over thirty-seven pounds of clean washed wool in two 
consecutive years. This wool sells at thirty cents 
per pound. The lightest fleeces are from bearing ewes, 
and these will average-seven pounds each, so that there 
is no kind of wool selling higher by the fleece. 
These sheep are hardy. —I have kept them three 
years, and have not had a case of disease among them. 
Their long heavy fleece protects them from cold, and 
turns off the storms. 
They come to early maturity. —They may be fatted 
with profit when a year old. At two I have seen them 
fatted with very little grain, and sold to the butcher for 
eighteen dollars each. 
They are disposed to become fat. —It is well known 
that a given amount of food will produce a far greater 
amount of valuable fat and flesh on some animals than 
others. Grain fed to these sheep, produces more pounds 
of meat than when fed to swine, and the meat sells high¬ 
er by the pound. The Genesee Farmer notices expe¬ 
riments in England on this very point. The food is care¬ 
fully weighed and fed to the differents kinds of sheep, 
and the result proves that a given amount of food pro¬ 
duces more Cotswold mutton than any other kind. 
These sheep obtain a great size —A standing premi¬ 
um of one hundred dollars, for a sheep weighing two hun¬ 
dred pounds in the mutton, has been taken by this breed 
alone. The wool will pay the expense of keeping until 
three years of age. They have then been fatted to weigh 
three hundred pounds, and sold for twenty-five dollars 
each. It has not been uncommon for this breed of sheep 
to furnish specimens approaching four hundred pounds, 
live weight. The two premium sheep of this kind in 
England, last year, reached the enormous weight of four 
hundred and twenty and for hundred and ten pounds. 
These sheep are well adapted to small farms, and 
thrive best in small flocks. The farmer of small means 
will find that with good care, fifteen of these sheep will 
produce as large an income as one hundred of the com¬ 
mon kind, and a much larger profit. 
