Ch. XXXIX.] ION SHEEP SALVING. 477 



each sheep, brings the cost to 5d. and b^d. per head. The wliole of the 

 wool was sold to^^ether, and the ])roceeds were as follows ; — 



That, smeared with Rosin, at •24s. per 24 lbs. 



Do. with Tar, ,,2l4-. per (Id. 



The White, or unlaid, , , 244'. per do. 



and the average return of each fleece, as influenced by the weight of 

 salve laid on, was — 



The Rosinned, 44'. 0|^;. ; the Tarred, 4s. : the Urilald, 3s. ^d. 



Notwithstanding which, we have, however, learned that all mixtures with 

 rosin are objected to by the manufacturers. He, however, recommends the 

 following articles, as being suflicient for the smearing of about 50 to 55 

 sheep ; namely — 



18 lbs. Butter ; 12 lbs. Rosin ; 18 lbs. Hogs' lard ; 4 quarts Gallipoli oil. 

 The butter and lard to ^be heated in one pot, and the rosin in another; 

 and when both are fairly melted, they are to be poured into one tub and 

 well mixed. The oil is then added, the whole again well mixed, and allowed 

 to stand some days till it is fairly thickened into salve. The quantity of 

 hogs'-lard, he thinks, might be advantageously increased, as he has ever 

 found it the most nourishing of greases for the health of the sheep and the 

 growth of wool. The quantity of rosin is only such as will make the 

 grease adhere to the skin, and the oil of Gallipoli is that used by manufac- 

 turers in the cleansing of woollens. The same number have also been 

 smeared with, 24 lbs. of palm grease, 4 quarts of good lamp oil, and 5 

 gallons of tar ; which is a cheaper mixture than that with butter, and is said 

 to increase the wool so much more in point of weight that four fleeces 

 thus salved were fully as heavy as five with butter*. 



The cost of all these mixtures, it will be observed, is considerable ; but 

 there is another, mentioned by Mr. Harkness, with v.hich, he says, 72 sheep 

 may be eff"ectually smeared at the expense of three-halfpence each ; it is 

 this'— 



" Take 24 quarts of tar : add 2 gallons of clear seal oil, 3 imperial stones of potatoes, 

 and 2 lbs. of soda.' The potatoes are to be neatly pared and scraped, then well washed, 

 boiled on a good fire, and finally mashed until they are reduced to a fine pulp. Pour 

 the seal oil and the soda upon the potatoes, stir the wliole well together until the 

 mass is thoroughly incorporated ; add one imperial gallon of urine, stir again, and 

 when about the warmth of milk from the cow, pour the whole into the tar. After ten 

 minutes' stirring, the whole will be perfectly incorporated, and the mixture will be fit 

 for use in a few hours after." 



The use of the potatoes, he states to liave been occasioned by his having 

 found that they washed the tar out of clothe) with which it had been 

 smeared, in a much better manner than soap, or any other substance which 

 he could find. 



Some farmers have used Gallipoli oil alone, and have found tliat the wool 

 sprang more luxuriantly, and handled, when clipped, with more genial soft- 

 ness tlian that of fleeces which had not been smeared. If put carefully 

 in to the bottom of the wool, when the sheep is dry, the experienced flock- 

 master from whom we obtained that information, says, "that it takes ex- 

 clusive possession of the fleece, and keeps the animal, in wet weather, as dry 

 as a duck ; it instantly kills all vermin, and produces a heavy fleece of beau- 

 tiful soft wool." We have, indeed, no doubt that it has such an effect, and 

 if the common oils, which can be procured at a cheap rate, were to be 

 rubbed in immediately after shearing, instead of the common wash of 



* Staplers, hovvever, con^.plain of its discolouring the wool, and rendering it so 

 moist and clammy as not to be pleasantly manufactured. — Farm. Mag. on the manage- 

 ment of wool, vol. xiv. p. 192. 



