158 THE SHEPHERD'S MANUAL. 



niit the fleece to dry and to regain sufficient yolk to recover a soft 

 and mellow handling. 



TAGGING AND TRIMMING THE FEET. If the sheep are very 

 dirty, and have not been kept trimmed about the tail, it is advisa- 

 ble that they should be tagged before they are washed. The 

 coarse soiled tag-locks about the hinder parts, and the belly of the 

 rams and wethers, may be clipped off in the spring and thrown 

 into a basket or barrel to be soaked and washed by themselves. 

 The same time will be the most convenient to trim the feet, which 

 is a more necessary thing to do than is generally supposed. The 

 toes of old sheep, upon soft pastures, will grow long and turn up, 

 and cause lameness, or the soles and edges of the hoof will become 

 ragged and worn, the horn turning under at the edges. In this 

 condition the feet gather filth or small stones and gravel, which 

 work into the hoof and cause disease. Foot-rot is in many cases 

 thus engendered. The feet should then be trimmed at washing 

 time, if not oftener. A sharp knife may be used to pare the ragged 

 edges of the hoof and the sole, and toe nippers to shorten the toes. 

 A pair of common wire-workers' cutting nippers may be used for 

 the latter purpose. The edge of the nippers should be filed sharp, 

 with the bevel on the inside, and brought to a smooth edge with 

 a piece of oil-stone. 



SHEAKING. Sheep should not be shorn until the weather has 

 become warm and settled. May is the usual time for shearing in 

 the northern states. The tools of the shearer are a pair of shears, 

 and if desired, a shearing-bench upon which sheep may be placed 

 to avoid the necessity of his stooping so much as is required when 

 the sheep are laid upon the floor. The common shears with a 

 thumb piece upon one side, and an easy spring no stronger than 

 will be sufficient to make the shears open freely when released 

 from pressure, is the best tool for the shearer. Several new and 

 patented shears have been introduced, which the inventors claim 

 may be used even by inexperienced persons without danger of 

 cutting the sheep's skin. A trial of these shears does not support 

 this claim, and the common shears are not yet superseded by any 

 of these so-called improvements. The shears should be brought 

 to a fine, sharp edge upon a fine oil-stone. The bevel of the cut- 

 ting edge should be about 35 degrees, or somewhat more than that 

 of a common pair of scissors, and less than that of a plane iron. 



The floor of the shearing room should be kept perfectly free 

 from straw, chaff, or litter, and if a boy is kept constantly at work 

 with a broom hi his hand removing dirt, tags, and rubbish, his 



