SHEEP, SWUSTE, AND OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 419 



found to have grown out of shape, curled under, etc. Washing 

 softens the hoof and frees it from dirt. Have a strong sharp 

 knife and pare off all these irregularities and also a part of the 

 sole, if very thick. The long toes are usually clipped with 

 nippers. Shearing may be done from one to two weeks after 

 washing, or as soon as the fleece is so far filled again with oil oi 

 yolk as to be silky and glossy ; seven ivarm days will accom- 

 plish this better than fourteen cold ones, and three hot days 

 better than either. Says Mr. Eandall : " Shearing should always 

 be done on smooth, clean floors or platforms, with the sheep 

 penned close at hand. If the weather is fair, it is best to drive 

 only enough sheep into the pen at once to employ the shearer 

 three hours, the rest remaining in the pasture to keep them- 

 selves filled with feed. A hungry, empty sheep is more impa- 

 tient, and the shears run around its collapsed belly and sides 

 with more difficulty. The bottom of the pen should be kept 

 clean with straw, stalks, or corncobs; corncobs are the best. If 

 there are any sheep in the pen dirty from purging they should 

 be the first taken out. They should be carried a little aside 

 from the shearing floor and the dungy locks cut away. "When 

 the catcher catches a sheep in the pen he should lift it in his 

 arms clear of the floor, instead of dragging it to the door, and 

 thus filling its feet with straw, manure, etc. At the door of the 

 pen he should hold it up with its back resting against his own 

 body and its feet projecting toward the shearer, who should be 

 there to clear its feet of filth, and with a small broom to free its 

 belly from all dirt, before carrying it to the platform." 



Shearing is a nice operation and not \yeli done by a novice. 

 R. M. Smith, of Manchester, has invented and patented a 

 machine for shearing sheep, and good authority pronounces it 

 successful in doing the work rapidly and well. Messrs. R. H. 

 Allen & Co., the great implement manufacturers of New York 



