SHEARING SHEEP BY HAND 



Hand Shears Still in Use in Many Sections Where 

 Small Bunches of Sheep are Kept 



Hundreds of small bunches of sheep will be started as farmers 

 begin to realize their value. Men who start with only a few 

 sheep sometimes have no farm power and there are not enough 

 sheep in the neighborhood to warrant the purchase of a shear- 

 ing machine. These men will commence by using hand shears. 

 Men and boys who learn to shear with the hand shears will 

 make good machine operators when the time comes. 



These pictures and instructions, furnished by George B. Ford, 

 Cambridge, Ohio, manufacturer of Ford Rigged Shears, are 

 valuable for beginners and experienced shearers whether they use 

 machine or hand shears. Mr. Ford gained a national reputation 

 for rapid and high-class shearing in the Camps of Wyoming and 

 Montana before the days of shearing machines. He could shear 

 from 150 to 200 sheep in nine hours. 



A great deal depends upon the different positions in which the 

 sheep is held as to the shearer's ability in reference to speed and 

 quality of work. The method shown here will, if carefully studied 

 and practiced, prove a very great help to our eastern shearers in 

 overcoming some of many difficulties encountered. 



Do Not Grab Sheep by the Wool 



Either catch them by the hind leg just above the hock, or by 

 the flank. Never try to lead or move a sheep by pulling at its head. 



Always put one hand under 

 its neck and with the other 

 push at the tail head. 



Holding a sheep by the 

 wool is apt to loosen the fibre 

 from the skin, besides being 

 painful. 



Figure 1 Throwing the 

 Sheep. Represents the 

 shearer in the act of throwing 

 the sheep. All that is neces- 

 sary is to lift a few pounds 

 rather quickly with the right 

 hand, and the sheep falls 

 right by the shearer's feet. 



Figure 1 @2 



