472 Transactions of the 



as this, for it is the worst thing a shearer can ho guilty of. It is easy 

 to imagine the result with an ewe at Fall shearing, big with lamb. 

 Even ewes not with lamb, and wethers, may die of the effects of injury 

 thus received, long afterwards, when the shearer is paid off and gone, 

 and you have no recourse. Again, if you have too many shearers in one 

 corral, and anj T of them are slow hands or beginners, these are sure to 

 have all the most wrinkly, dirty, scabby, and difficult sheep to shear; 

 for the old shearer, like the old herder, knows his business, and when 

 the fag end of each penfull of sheep comes, and say there is just one 

 apiece to shear, he may hurry up and shear two to the slow man's one, 

 or suddentyhis shears will become dull, and he begins to whet; but, one 

 way or another, he will work the thing about in such a way that you 

 will find him having the first choice in each round of sheep shorn, and 

 yet apparently doing his work right along. This is not fair as between 

 hands, and the sufferers will try to get even, which will always be at 

 your expense. The sheep ought to be caught and sheared just as they 

 come; but as most men fail to perceive the justice of this when shearing 

 in a crowd (and the undersigned may confess that in practice he has 

 been one of them), it is best to have small pens, one for each shearer. 



HOW TO SHEAR. 



Sheep shearing and sheep breeding are such distinct professions, in 

 California, that I will note for the beginner such points as, I think, he 

 may and ought to insist on. As to where the shears are to be first 

 inserted, and how the shearer is to hold his sheep, are points for the 

 shearer to decide. I should insist that the fleece be always taken off as 

 an entirety, with exception, perhaps, of the belly and tags. Also, see 

 that the wool is not cut to pieces, or hacked by cutting twice in the 

 same place. Each stroke with the shears should be clear and complete, 

 and made close to the body. If a miscut be made, let it go at that; for 

 if you do leave a half an inch of wool at that spot, you get it next 

 shearing, and if'cut now it will be too short to be of any use to the 

 manufacturer, and will only injure, in his estimation, the parcel of wool 

 in which it is discovered. In opening up the neck, or shearing the 

 belly, when it becomes necessary to open the wool, let the shears be 

 worked in gradually, cutting the wool on an even plane close to the skin 

 until they are in and underneath the wool as far as they will go, then 

 raise them, tearing the fleece open. Thus commence at the point of the 

 shoulder, working up towards the head. This prevents cutting the 

 staple along the neck, and makes a better job. In shearing on the floor 

 a man has better control of his sheep. If shearing on a bench catch 

 the sheep by the left hind-leg, back it towards the bench, and roll it 

 over thereon; set it up on its butt, and then, as }'ou stand with your 

 left foot on the bench, lay the sheep's neck across your left knee, with 

 his right side against your body; now, take the two fore legs under 

 j-our left arm, and begin about the center of the belly, and open the 

 fleece fore and aft. Shear what would be the left side of the belly if 

 the sheep were on his feet, also, the left side of the brisket. Now, cut 

 off all tags from the inside of the hind-legs, and shear the breech as fur 

 as you can reach in this position. .Return to the point of the shoulder, 

 going up under the wool with the shears, as above described, to the butt 

 of the ear; now, shear around, taking off the fleece as an entirety, and 

 including the foretop, clear around the neck. You will proceed thus 

 down the left side, taking the left fore-leg by the way, and always 



