TKK SHEEP. VJ'J 



rot, when tlie hoalino; process has commenced. A plaistcr composed of 

 a pound of pitch and two draclims of bees' wax, melted to<i;etlier, and 

 spread wliile waiin on soft leather or linen cloth, is applied with mnch 

 advantaji'e to the heads of sheep which are sore from the ravages of the 

 niago;ots of the Hy, Some, as a precantionary measnre, smear the head 

 in May with this composition, and scatter a little wool over it ; others 

 sew the plaistcr round the head. 



Salving, or Smearing. — The practice of salving or anointing tlie skin of 

 the sheep, after shearing, with some unctuous preparation, is not universal. 

 It is, however, the ordinary custom in Scotland, and is, indeed, essential 

 to the health and comfort of sheep exposed to bleak winds in open moun- 

 tain districts, to heavy mists, and drenching and long-continue<l rains. 



The primary object of smearing is the protection of the skin from wet 

 and cold ; and next, to promote the growth of the wool and improve its 

 character. Besides these objects, there are others not unim[)ortant — 

 the prevention of the attacks of insects, the destruction of such as might 

 adhere to the skin, and the healthy action of the skin or the removal of 

 cutaneous affections, for which tar is very efficient. Tar, mixed with 

 butter, in order to counteract its tenacity, is the ordinary salving mate- 

 rial ; and vast quantities of damaged butter are yearly sent to the grazing 

 districts of Scotland, for the use of the sheep farmers. One sei-ious dis- 

 advantage, however, attends the application of tar — it indelibly siaiiic 

 the wool ; hence it cannot be used for white goods, and what is more, 

 it will not take the finer and more brilliant dyes. Wool thus tar-stained 

 is termed laid wool, and sells at a lower ratio than ivhlte or unsalt'cd 

 wool. Yet in exposed situations the necessity of salving is felt, and 

 various unguents have been tried. Instead of butter whale-oil, as an 

 adjunct to tar, has been used, and is recommended by the lion. W. J. 

 Napier in his "Treatise on Practical Store-farming;" but the tinge of the 

 tar is not obviated by this admixture. Mr. Hogg says : "Of late, sevei'al 

 compositions have been purposely and extensively tried, in which the 

 spirit of tar has been substituted for tar itself. This has, in some cases, 

 been complained of as too irritating; and there is no doubt that a too 

 free use of spirit of tar is injurious and even fatal. Some of the salves, 

 while they prove to be perfectly well adapted to flocks that are clean, 

 have been found ineffectual either in curing or warding off the scab — a 

 disease which the common salve made of tar and grease seems effectually 

 to resist. When a flock is perfectly clean, olive-oil has been found to be 

 the best substance for softening the fleece, and warding off rain and 

 snow. For clean sheep, 'Taylor's salve' is also suitable, though some 

 English staplers have condemned it. If a tar-salve were made so as to 

 be free from the impurities of the tar, it might probably answer every 

 purpose. The ordinary proportion of one cwt. of grease to a barrel of 

 tar, might be increased to one and a half cwt. ; and when melted together, 

 the impurities of the tar might be suffered to subside and be separated. 

 In this way the tar might not leave a stain upon the wool when scoured. 

 Olive oil seems to impregnate the wool, or to adhere to it more firmly 

 than any other kind of greasy matter; and it has been successfully 

 euijiloyed by Mr. Sellar, of Morvich, a first-rate store-farmer in Suther- 

 land." 



