322 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



times the cause of garget in nursing ewes, and abortion with those in lamb. Sheep are often 

 driven a long distance to be washed, when no suitable stream is near the farm, and in warm 

 weather, which it must be of necessity, that the water of the brook or river be suitably warm 

 for the purpose, and even then the change of temperature in plunging them into the stream 

 must be very great. Sheep have been known to suddenly die in the water under such cir 

 cumstances. A farmer of large experience in sheep-breeding tells us that he had one die in 

 this manner recently, which, when taken into the water, seemed paralyzed by the shock, and 

 died with scarcely a struggle. It could not have been drowned, for its head was out of 

 the water, and it would have been impossible for a sheep or any other animal to have drowned 

 under the circumstances. 



At another time he had a fine sheep die a few hours after washing, that to all appear 

 ance was perfectly well before. Besides the labor of washing, and danger to the sheep, it is 

 much more dangerous to those who perform the work to stand in water for several hours, and 

 many serious diseases, if not deaths, have been occasioned by it. It must indeed be a vigor 

 ous constitution to endure the ordeal unharmed. The water of streams in which sheep are 

 washed often becomes muddy by disturbing the sediment or sand at the bottom, which set 

 tles in the wool and injures it. 



Again, good judges of wool, who are, with rare exceptions, the buyers, can tell very 

 accurately, even to a fraction, what will be the shrinkage, which is generally one-third, in 

 cleaning, and manufacturers always cleanse every fleece of wool before using it; therefore we 

 consider washing the fleece on the sheep entirely useless; besides, as sheep are not sheared 

 for at least two weeks after washing, the wool will accumulate considerable foreign substance 

 in that time, a fact known to wool buyers, and they base their prices accordingly. 



Besides the objections previously given, washing is a very inconvenient practice in the 

 cooler temperatures, and at the North the shearing is often delayed very late, in order that 

 the water of streams may be sufficiently warm for the purpose, while the temperature of the 

 atmosphere might be warm enough for shearing considerably earlier. It also requires time 

 for wool to regain its former softness and elasticity after washing. We have often seen sheep 

 that looked much worse after washing than before, by being driven a long distance over a 

 dusty road after the process. Where farmers prefer to have their wool washed before sell 

 ing, it can be done much easier and better in the fleece than on the sheep s backs, but we 

 would advise that the entire cleansing process be left to manufacturers. 



Sheep should be kept as clean as possible without washing, and care taken to prevent 

 the accumulation of all foreign substances, such as burs, twigs, hay-seed, etc., and all frag 

 ments of wool that have become filthy with manure (which is common where sheep are first 

 turned out to grass) should be clipped off. With a little care a flock can be kept quite clean. 

 When hay is stored over a shed in which sheep seek shelter, the floor on which the hay rests 

 should be very tight to prevent the hay seed and dirt from sifting down on to the backs of 

 the sheep, as this accumulation is quite difficult to remove and damages the looks of a flock 

 of wool fleeces when sheared. 



To all farmers we would say, whatever has been your former practice, don t wash your 

 sheep, for it is a worse than needless task. 



Shearing. The shearing of sheep is an art only to be acquired by practice, whether 

 it be performed by hand or machine, and not every one who professes to be an expert in the 

 business will be shown to be such by his work. Great injury is often done both the sheep 

 and wool by rough handling or carelessness in cutting, in which case either the skin of the sheep 

 is cut, or the staple of the wool injured by being severed, or by not being cut sufficiently 

 close; a very little carelessness resulting in making a wound in the skin that will require 

 nearly all summer to heal, or in leaving sufficient wool in unsightly ridges about the head, 

 flanks, legs, and other portions of the body to more than equal in the aggregate, the cost of 



