SHEEP. 1029 



ought to be cut close to the knot, so as not to give the owner 

 an appearance of seeking to sell twine for wool. 



All fribs from the shearing-bible, spring-cut tags, and pulled 

 wool, whether washed or not, ought to be kept by themselves, 

 not put into the fleeces. 



Sheep dying through the winter should be skinned at once; 

 the pelts may be sold, washed or unwashed, or the wool may 

 be loosened with lime-water and sold as pulled whichever is 

 found most profitable. 



If unwashed, sheep should be shorn from the 20th of April 

 to the 15th of May, according to the latitude and weather; if 

 washed, from the 20th of May to the middle of June. It is a 

 well established fact that flocks do better when shorn in April, 

 if reasonable provision is made for housing in storms for a week 

 or ten days afterward. This is especially true of suckling ewes. 

 The heat retained in their bodies by heavy, burdensome fleeces, 

 worn late in May or June, tends to dry up the milk and ener- 

 vate the system. They can withstand the loss of the fleece 

 comparatively better in cool weather than they can after becom- 

 ing enfeebled by it in the summer heat. If well-bred flocks are 

 sheltered from all storms, from November 1st through the winter 

 and spring, shorn before they are turned to grass say from 

 April 10th to 20th then protected a week or two, their wool 

 will not only be as white generally as it is after washing at the 

 usual season, but it will generally weigh enough to enable the 

 farmer to submit without loss to the one-third deduction. If it 

 should perchance bring him a few cents less per head, the sheep 

 will do enough better to counterbalance the loss, if not more. 

 Thrifty tegs shorn as early as April 15th will frequently gain 

 ten or fifteen pounds before June 1st worth more than a 

 pound of wool. Cotswolds will frequently gain twenty or 

 twenty-five pounds. 



The flocks ought to be carefully drafted and marked or la- 

 beled at shearing-time. Marking should be done with red lead, 

 Venetian red, or some paint which can be scoured off; tar is 

 very objectionable. Drafting ought to be instituted as soon as 

 the sheep reaches the age of one year, for it has then demon- 



