Identifier: sheepbreedsmanag00wrig (find matches)
Title: Sheep, breeds and management
Year: 1893 (1890s)
Authors: Wrightson, John
Subjects: Sheep
Publisher: London, Vinton
Contributing Library: UMass Amherst Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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well sprung ribs, depth and square-ness of carcase, good girth and well carried out quarters, areformulae which well might be repeated over every breed. Weshall therefore assume that, so far as carcase is concerned,well-made sheep should possess all these points, and contentourselves with the consideration of those characters whichreally mark the race. The skin of the Cotswold is coveredwith a fleece of great length and weight, although inferior inboth points to the Lincolns. In crack flocks the fleecesrun three to the tod of 28 lbs. or 9^ lbs. each, and many fleeceshave been shorn weighing close upon two to the tod ; but thismust be considered as exceptional. The wool lies on the surface of the fleece in large roundcurls, and the fibre is somewhat coarse and hair-like whenexamined separately, and has no wavy wrinkles such as areseen in Shropshire or Hampshire wool. The sheep standsstraight on his legs, and carries himself nobly. Cotswold lambs are somewhat ragged in appearance during
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THE KENTISH OR ROMNEY MARSH SHEEP. 33 their first summer, looking dry in the coat and wanting thebloom which is seen on Down lambs. They are said to bedelicate when young, and require time to mature. But what-ever their appearance in youth, they grow up grand and hardy,and it is asserted by experienced farmers of the district thatno breed will so well withstand the climate or thrive so wellon what Camdens translator calls the weally nature of thesoil. They ought not to be run too thickly upon the land, norenclosed too constantly in hurdles, and if such a policy ispursued they lose in size. The Cotswold is not adapted forbreeding fat lambs. The mutton is of second quality, likethat of most long-woolled sheep, and is pale and long in thegrain. When long wool commanded a higher price than shortwool, the position of the Cotswold sheep was stronger than atpresent, as a Cotswold fleece was easily worth £\. Now thesame fleece is probably not worth more than los. For atime the demand for Cot

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