10 Feb., 191 I.J Diiigtiiess in Wool. 99 



v/ere old railway sleeper.s, sawn timber wa.s used. The fences are about 

 3 ft. 6 in. high, boarded with four 6 inch x i inch hardwood boards, six 

 boards being used from A to a on plan, to prevent the sheep seeing the dip. 

 The posts are about 6 feet apart, and 2 feet in the ground. A hurdle is 

 placed across the front of the decoy pen, so that the sheep in it can be 

 plainly .seen by the flock. The draining pens will each hold about 40 

 crossbred sheep, and the yards and catching pens about 400 to 500 sheep. 

 The price of the timber will vary so considerably with the district, that 

 it is of little u.se to give the cost of the yards. 



To protect the bath, and to obviate the necessity of removing it each 

 year, we built a wooden framework around the outside, between it and 

 the earth, l)oth the bath and the framework being tarred. A check gate 

 is provided with the bath, to prevent the sheep going through too quickly ; 

 but we found that many of them jumped well out and the bar of the gate 

 caught them under the neck, .so the check gate was removed. The sheep 

 can easily be kept in the li(]uid by means of the crutch without injuring 

 them. To i)revent splash, a good plan is to put a 6 inch x i inch boani 

 along each side of the bath on its flat and projecting an inch or two over 

 the bath. This can be fastened down to rhe .sill under the rim of the 

 bath, or to bl(;cks driver, into the fTound. 



DTNGINESS IN WOOL. 



In reply to a (]uestion forwarded l)y a correspondent from Dean's 

 Mar.sh as to the cause of dinginess in wool, Mr. H. ^^^ Ham, Sheep 

 Expert, has furnished the following reply : — 



In any climate, ill-bred, badly-thriving, dark-skinned, inferior-fleshed 

 sheep are the most subject to secreting congealed or dead yolk. But 

 rcdnfall has a most marked influence on sheep and wool, especially fine 

 w(K>lled breeds when meeting excessive and continued rains during late 

 winter and sj)ring while getting towards full wool. This condition 

 is mostly found among merince-, culled or rejecteil from flc^cks noted for 

 cutting heavy weights per head, and in sheep with a strain of inferior 

 Down's blcKxl in them. It is rarely met with in Lincolns or T,eicesters. 



(lorxl merino sheey) that would be suital)le for hot drv districts woulil 

 be likely in an excessively wet one to show signs of congealed yolk. 

 Hut sheep showing this unsatisfactory class of yolk through the whole 

 length of the staple would In- inferim in whatever climate they were 

 bred in. Those showing it onlv on tlie skin in a wet district would not 

 be in the lea.st affected in a dry one. 



I.ong-.stapled sheep give l>est results in districts of heavy raintall — 

 they turn more water. Excessive rain does not directly cause healthy 

 yolk to congeal, but through continued dampness being contained in the 

 dense fleece an unhealthy state of the skin and flesh is brought alwHit. It is 

 generally thought tiiat yolk, being a grease, deters rain, but it is not so. 

 Water and volk mix well together. Densely-woolled yolky sheej") are not 

 dried as much bv tlie wind, as by evaporation of the heat of the l>o<ly. 



in a mild summ<'r climate the ill effects of the sun on recently dipi)ed 

 sh«^*ep are hardly worth considering. In the northern districts open- 

 fleecefl, thin backed, fine w<k)1 sheep n< I possessing sufficient yolk will 

 blister and a scurf will rise. It is unb in hi>t and dustv climates that 



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