Ch. XXXIX.] ON SHEEP SHEARING. 473 



two or three o'clock in the afternoon, in order to give ihe sheep time to 

 get somewhat dry, and recover tlieir natural warmth before the cold and 

 damp of the evening sundown: the number which can be washed de- 

 pending, of course, in which way the business has been done*. The 

 same operation is by some persons repeated a few days afterwards, in the 

 view of still further cleansing the fleece ; but it has been found to materially 

 injure the softness of the wool. 



Running water is commonly preferred, as being the most pure and 

 likely to perfectly cleanse the fleece ; though, if impregnated with chalk, it 

 should be avoided, as rendering the wool rough and brittle; and if the 

 stream be very cold and sharp, it is not advisable to put more than 

 four sheep into the pen at a time. A roomy pond of clear stagnant 

 water, with a sound bottom, free from mud, is, however, better ; not 

 only because the softness of the water causes it to act more effectu- 

 ally in removing impurities, but the oily matter, or " yolk," contained 

 in the wool, being of a soapy nature, strengthens the wash so much that the 

 greater the number of shecj) washed the better has the water been found 

 to cleanse. The Farming Society of Ireland have, indeed, recommended 

 the use of a large tub of water, warmed to about blood heat, in which to 

 place the sheep till the wool be softened and well washed ; after which they 

 may be river-washed. Bakewell, of Wakefield, was of that opinion : he says, 

 " that the keeping the animal a sufficiently long time in the water endan- 

 gers its health ; that fleeces of a close pile cannot be cleansed bv the 

 usual mode of washing, and that the extra labour required to wash sheep 

 in tubs with warm water would be amply repaid, were the first and second 

 washings carried out and applied as manure, the quantity of rich animal 

 soap which it contains making it one of the most fertilizing applications 

 wliich can possibly be used f." 



If the weather be warm, the fleece will probably be sufficiently dry to 

 commence the operation of shearing on the third day after the washing: ; but 

 it is generally thought better to allow a full week to elapse, both as insuring 

 the wool to be free from damp, and allowing time for its imbibing some 

 portion of that insensible perspiration from the body which is supposed to 

 constitute the yolk, and which imparts a great deal of softness and elasticity 

 to its feel. When left on the sheep, the yolk is, indeed, most precious to 

 the animal ; for its oily nature not only protects it against the rain, but 

 nourishes the growth and closeness of the wool, so as to render it almost 

 impenetrable to cold. 



The shearing is generally done under cover, upon the clean floor of a 

 barn, but may be equallv well performed in the open air. The sheep which 

 are intended to be shorn on that day, are penned close to the shearer ; and 

 one man, if a good hand, will operate upon two or three score, according to 

 their size and the sort of fleece. About fifty head of Southdowns may be 

 the average. The operation is performed either along or across the body. 

 By the former, the shears moving in a level, the stroke is closer and more 

 equal ; while by the latter, it moves in a curved direction, thus rendering 

 it more difficult, as well as occasioning a greater risk of nicking the skin : 

 it, however, gives a neater appearance to the fleece, and has therefore of 

 late become much in fashion. The mode of performance is as follows : — 



* Parkinson asserts in his " English Practice of Agriculture," that he has known 

 one man wash 1000 sheep in a day, at ihe price of four-pence per score, p. 190. Yet 

 he admits that, when in Ireland, he found it difhciilt to wash 650, though employing 

 fii'teen men in the operation, p. 18G, 



f Bakewell ou Wool, p. 71. 



