. Types and breeds of farm animals. Livestock. THE OXFORD DOWN 569 a dark brown face and legs, is wooled over the forehead, and is a typical mutton sheep. However, under average conditions the Oxford Down is lighter brown than the Shropshire, is not so heavily wooled over the head, though with longer, looser forelock, has a larger frame and more scale, with a longer, more open fleece. In early days the Oxford face was speckled or mottled brown and white or gray, and the fleece was rather long and open, quite suggestive of the long-wool type, as might he expected, con- sidering the Cotswold blo
. Types and breeds of farm animals. Livestock. THE OXFORD DOWN 569 a dark brown face and legs, is wooled over the forehead, and is a typical mutton sheep. However, under average conditions the Oxford Down is lighter brown than the Shropshire, is not so heavily wooled over the head, though with longer, looser forelock, has a larger frame and more scale, with a longer, more open fleece. In early days the Oxford face was speckled or mottled brown and white or gray, and the fleece was rather long and open, quite suggestive of the long-wool type, as might he expected, con- sidering the Cotswold blood used. The modern Oxford, however, has been bred to be uniformly brown in face, though the Amer- ican standard calls for an even dark gray or brown face with or without a gray spot on the lower part of the nose, and the fleece has been bred shorter and more compact. The head of the Ox- ford is rarely wooled much below the fore- head, and the dark gray or brown ears tend to be somewhat long and thin and free of wool. As a rule Oxfords show the distinctive mutton form, with a strong breadth of back and excellent leg of mutton. The skin of the Oxford Down, like the Shropshire, is frequently bluish tinted, lacking the pink, bright cherry color most admired. The twentieth-century Oxford Down is a sheep of much merit, but lacks the refinement of Southdown or Shrop- shire, as expressed in the grosser size and quality of bone and fleece. An interesting comparison of the Oxford and Shrop- shire by John Wrightson^ of England, who was a keen ob- server of sheep and lived close to their native home, is well worth quoting here: 1 Sheep: Breeds and Management, p. 70. London, 1895. Digitized by Microsoft®. Fig. 263. A reserve Oxford Down stud ram in the flock of the late John Bryan, South Leigh, England. From photograph by the author. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of the
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