156 THE SHEPHERD'S MANUAL. 



water, is very convenient. The washers enter the stream and re- 

 ceive the sheep from the hands of the drivers, plunging them 

 bodily beneath the surface, two or three times. - In catching the 

 sheep and handling them in the water, the assistants should avoid 

 pulling the wool. If a sheep is hauled around by the wool, the 

 skin is bruised, and, the wool is injured and weakened at the 

 bruised spots. To catch a sheep it should be seized with the right 

 hand by the hind leg above the hock, firmly with the whole hand, 

 yet without unnecessary violence. The pressure upon the sinew 

 above the hock joint paralyses the leg for a 

 moment, and the sheep will rarely struggle. 

 The left hand is then slipped around the 

 breast, and the shepherd has perfect control 

 of the heaviest sheep, without pulling in the 

 least upon the wool. A crook, fig. 54, is a 

 convenient implement with which to catch 

 wild or unruly sheep. It is quietly passed 

 in front of the leg, which is seized and held 

 while the shepherd secures the sheep in the 

 way described. After the sheep is thorough- 

 ly soaked, the animal's head is held above 

 water, while the fleece is shaken and squeezed, 

 so as to free it from dirt. As many as pos- 

 sible of the tags and matted locks around 

 the breech should be opened and cleansed. 

 When this has been done, the sheep is 

 passed to another washer, who finishes the 

 washing, and directs the sheep to the bank, squeezing the water 

 from its fleece as it emerges from the stream. A clean, grassy 

 bank should be chosen. Some long wool sheep, with heavy fleeces, 

 which hold a great quantity of water, may need some help to get 

 upon their feet as they reach the bank. Ewes that have not 

 lambed should be handled carefully in the washing, although it is 

 rarely, in well managed flocks, that ewes are allowed to be in lamb 

 at this time. 



This method of washing is often very disagreeable and injurious 

 to those who practice it. Where ague is prevalent, or where 

 rheumatism is feared, it is better to choose some other plan. A 

 rough dam may be made in a small stream, and a spout placed in 

 the dam. beneath which the sheep may be washed. A sparred 

 roadway may be laid across the stream, through which the water 

 will escape. By wearing rubber thigh boots, and a rubber apron, 

 the washers may be kept dry, and avoid the danger of long con- 



