222 THE BLACKFACED BEEED OF SHEEP. 



recent 3'ears, liad the distinguished honour of obtaining the 

 highest average prices at the Lothian ram sales. He sold two 

 beautiful specimens to Mr Howatson, at £71 and £08 respec- 

 tively in 1882. 



Smearinrj versus Bipjmig. 



Smearing and dipping, though practically two distinct opera- 

 tions, tend to the same object, viz., the destruction of parasites 

 peculiar to sheep ; they also stimulate and improve the quality 

 of wool, and conduce to a healthy, and muscular development of 

 the sheep. Smearing is confined for the greater part to the western 

 and northern Hiahlands of Scotland, but even in these districts it 

 is now less fashionable than it was some ten or fifteen years ago. 

 The advocates of dipping, as a substitute for smearing, have 

 increased in recent years, and the former process is now all but 

 universally preferred in the south of Scotland. The advantages 

 of dipping are undoubted, but they are by no means best 

 exemplified in its effects upon wool. The strength of its utility 

 lies more in its efficacy in destroying keds and all vermin 

 peculiar to sheep. To dipping, some people prefer pouring with 

 oil, butter, and turpentine for hill stock on lowland farms. 

 Smearing entails more labour than dipping or pouring, and is 

 consequently more expensive. The process is so elaborate that 

 a man can only smear about a score of sheep per day. The 

 wool has to be parted at a distance of about two inches, and the 

 composition inserted to the skin in each "shed" with the fingers. 

 The smearing composition usually consists of Archangel tar, 

 butter, American grease, brown grease, and palm oiL A 

 dip, consisting of a combination of oil and grease, has been 

 considerably used during the past ten or fifteen years. Smear- 

 ing is recommended for flocks on the Grampians and Monaliadh 

 ranges, and the highest parts of the counties of Argyll and 

 Eoss. In respect of the extent to which dipping and smearing 

 are used, the former undeniably bears the palm. Though the 

 latter process might be considered more suitable than dipping 

 for certain climates and situations, its cost is nearly three times 

 that of dipping ; and in view of the present condition of the 

 sheep and wool markets, such an expenditure is considered by 

 many entirely unnecessary, and is being abandoned accordingly. 



The following is a comparative statement of the price per 

 pound of white and laid Highland wool at different periods 

 since 18^1:-— 



Laid Wool. White Wool. Laid Wool. White Wool. 



s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 



1841, 4 3| 1872, 10 1 



1843, 3 4i 1876, 6 8^ 



1860, 5^ 8| 1880, 5^ 8 



1868, 4} 6j : 1883, 4 5| 



