632 MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP ON ARABLE LAND 



it is made into a band by twisting. The wool should 

 be at once, while warm, packed in strong canvas bags or 

 sheets, as the operation is then more easily and better 

 accomplished. 



Certain lands and climates produce better and finer wool 

 than others, whatever be the breed of sheep. Rich and also 

 heavy soils produce strong wool ; light soils, as Down lands 

 on limestone formations, wool of a finer quality. Wool 

 felts, mats, or " wauks " (t.e., sticks very closely together) 

 on the backs and necks of lean sheep in wet winters, and is 

 thereby lowered in value. The best wool is got from sheep 

 that are kept constantly thriving ; there is then no break in 

 the fibre, such as takes place when sheep get very poor in 

 condition. 



Weaning, in the South of England, is done about the 

 beginning of May and onwards ; in the North, the time is 

 the end of June and the beginning of July, and even later. 

 Lambs should have their pastures frequently changed, if 

 turned out in a field " at the breadth," and should never follow 

 ewes or other sheep, as they pick up parasites which have 

 been dropped by their predecessors, and are seriously injured 

 thereby. Sheep thriving badly from ordinary causes, such 

 as grass-scour, may almost invariably be " set going " by a 

 change to sainfoin, in those districts where sainfoin flourishes, 

 or by the addition of a moderate allowance of cake or corn 

 to the natural food. Ewes immediately after weaning, with 

 the extra feeding discontinued, are run over the poorest and 

 barest pasture to dissipate the milk, which, unless precautions 

 be taken to prevent it, is liable to cause swelling of the 

 udder for a few days. It is quite unnecessary to milk ewes 

 at this period by hand, as was at one time the custom even 

 in hilly districts. Ewe-milk cheese, of a rich green colour, 

 and of very fine flavour, was at one time largely made in 

 this country ; but, as ewes were milked from behind, the 

 operation was not one of the cleanest either for the milker or 

 for the product. 



When lambs are to be fed on a bulky, well-grown forage 

 crop, as clover, rape, or vetches, they should at first go on 

 for a few hours each day, and be turned out for a time into 

 a grass field at night. This should also be done in wet 

 weather if possible, especially if the land be at all heavy. 



