WEANING. 15 1 



in its use. I was informed that any man could learn how to 

 use the shears in half a day. 



How far this implement is likely to supersede our slower 

 and more laborious method it is difficult to say, but perhaps 

 the comparatively small numbers of our sheep will militate 

 against its extended use. The smaller size of the colonial 

 sheep has also been in favour of the Wolseley machine shears, 

 and the promoters of the demonstration already noticed 

 evidently were a little disappointed at the area of skin to be 

 got over in the case of our large sheep. I see that the 

 average tally of one man with these machines is stated to be 

 115 per day, while a maximum of 203 is said to have been 

 reached. At the rate at which the work progressed with 

 good English tegs, I should say that a very good average 

 result would be eighty sheep in a day of ten hours. 



The Newall-Cunningham Syndicate, 73, Cheapside, Lon- 

 don, and Burgon and Ball, La Plata Works, Malin Bridge, 

 Sheffield, also supply machines for the same purpose at 10 

 to ^"15 each, which satisfactorily shear sheep. 



WEANING. 



Many years ago an excellent paper on sheep management 

 was contributed to the Journal of the " Royal " by Mr. 

 Pawlett, in which he advocated weaning lambs at eight weeks 

 old. I have often thought about it, and how Mr. Pawlett 

 found that even in the succeeding February his early-weaned 

 lambs were heavier than those which had sucked later. A 

 good deal must depend upon the season at which a lamb is 

 born, for to those who lamb down their flocks in January, 

 weaning in March appears absolutely impossible. Those 

 sheep farmers whose flocks lamb down late in March are 

 differently situated, and the advent of summer weather, and 

 the presence of plenty of green food, may render weaning 

 possible early in June, or when the lambs are from ten to 

 twelve weeks old. So much is done by rule on most farms 



