744 Journal of Agriculture. [lo Dec, 1908. 



corners by a hx)lt, round which they work, Ijeing lifted by the upper corner 

 diagonally opposite to the bolt and working in a guide. This gate can 

 be opened or shut with ease, no matter how full of sheep the pens may 

 be. The pens are ventilated by means of louvred ventilators, the louvres 

 of which can be regulated to suit weather conditions. The floor joists of 

 the pens are covered with 2 in. by 2 in. battens spaced 2% in. centres. The 

 battens have their upper angles slightly chamfered and one side bevelled 

 so that the droppings can easily pass between them to the ground below. 

 The floor joists of the remaining portion of the shed are covered with 

 6 in. by i^ in. tongued and grooved flooring having the nails well punched 

 and the boards cleaned off. The divisions between the pens and shearing 

 board and the pens and wool classing portion are sheeted with 6 in. by 

 I in. lining (in order to obstruct the sheep's view of these parts of the 

 building and consequently keep them quiet) and have only two rails. The 

 remaining divisions have four rails and are left open. To prevent the 

 sheep when closely packed in the pens from being caught against the studs 

 of the outer walls, two horizontal rails are planted on to the studs, the 

 top rail being fixed about the height of a sheep. 



The wool classing portion of building contains along one side a space 

 for storing pressed wool, four bins for fleece wool each 6 ft. by 3 ft., 

 one similar sized bin for stained wool, and a belly picker's table with a 

 6 ft. X 4 ft. bin alongside. The space on this side for storing pressed 

 wool may be used for extra bins if necessary. On the other side is a 

 space for storing pressed wool, and a piece picker's table with a 6 ft. by 

 4 ft. bin on each side. In the centre space are the .skirting table, classing 

 table, and wool press. The studs at the back of bins are lined with 6 in. 

 X f in. white deal, tongued and grooved and beaded, of which material 

 the bins are chieflv constructed. All these fittings are arranged in the 

 most convenient positions for their various uses. Ample space is left 

 round the wool press and the skirting and classing tables. This half of 

 the building is lighted by means of two skylights giving a good top light 

 on to each table and into bins. The tables are constructed of Oregon, 

 with battened tops and rounded edges of deal. The battens are if in. by 

 I in. on edge, spaced i^ in. centres, with top rounded. 



There are three doors to the building. A small hinged door for 

 general use of those emploved in the building, is placed in a po.sition 

 convenient both for shearers and wool classers. A large sliding door is 

 placed at each end of the building. The doorwav at the wool classing 

 end leads on to a platform for loading wool. The one at the other end 

 is for ...e entrance of the sheep, and leads on to a battened ramp 

 connected with a sweating shed which in its turn is connected with the 

 drafting yards. It is difficult to estimate the exact cost of this building, 

 as so much depends on the localitv in which it is to be erected. The 

 price in Melbourne would be approximatelv ^320. 



This shed (which is for a flock up to 4,000 sheep) being built in 

 10 ft. sections, can be easily reduced or increased to suit the number of 

 sheep to be shorn, without interfering with the general arrangements or 

 construction. If less than 1,500 sheep are to be shorn, the length of 

 the building could be reduced 20 ft. bv cutting out half the shearing Ixiard 

 and the pens behind, and bv taking 10 ft. off the wool classing portion. 

 This would effect a saving of about ^65. Each additional 10 ft. added 

 (at a cost of about ;^4o) to the shearing board portion of shed would allow 

 2,000 more sheep to be shorn up to 8,000 in all without any increase of 

 the wool classing portion being necessarv nor need the sweating pen be 

 larger. 



