SOLON ROBINSON, 1845 551 



shelter themselves and families, in a rude uncomfort- 

 able log cabin, through the cracks of which the winds 

 sweep almost as freely as they do through the rail fence 

 that forms the only shelter for their cattle, unless they 

 choose to be located near some friendly grove; which 

 is the reason that I have advised the new settling shep- 

 herd to seek such a spot, where the comfort and health 

 of his flock will be greatly promoted by giving them the 

 privilege of a stroll through the bushes, of a sunny day 

 in winter. 



Many excellent locations can be found where it will 

 be very inconvenient to find a washing place. But let 

 not this objection be considered an insuperable one. It 

 is not a very expensive or troublesome matter to make 

 an artificial washing place. Select some little rill, and 

 excavate a place big enough to put in a vat 4 feet deep, 

 8 feet wide, and 16 feet long; and if necessary add other 

 vats of the same dimensions. It is a mistaken notion 

 that it is necessary to have clear and swift running 

 water to wash sheep in; for it is a fact, that until the 

 water in the vat actually becomes thick with filth, it 

 will loosen the dirt in the fleece better than clean water. 

 Even when there is no kind of a stream to construct 

 the washing place in, it could be supplied from a good 

 pump in a shallow well. In many places where sheep 

 are washed in streams and ponds, they accumulate so 

 much mud and sand upon the bank or on the road home, 

 that the benefit of the washing is overbalanced. 



"A penny saved is as good as a penny earned," is 

 literally verified in shearing sheep. A good shearer will 

 more than save his wages, over a slovenly one, besides 

 the looks of the thing; for what work ill done, looks 

 worse than an ill-sheared sheep? I say nothing as to 

 the position of holding sheep while clipping them, for 

 that is of little consequence, so that the fleece is kept 

 whole, and rolled up in the most compact and neat man- 

 ner, inside out, and tied tight with small strong twine. 

 This is an important matter, and will well pay in the 



37—50109 



