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CHAPTER IX. 



WASHING, SHEARING AND PACKING WOOL FOR MARKET. 



Our Northern friends almost universally pursue a plan 

 that has never come into use with us, and that is, washing 

 sheep before shearing. This custom prevails also in Eng- 

 land, and in fact throughout all European countries. It 

 has been practiced time out of mind, and what is so popu- 

 lar with them certainly has merits. It frees the fleece from 

 dirt, and many impurities that accumulate during the year. 

 It causes the wool to sell at a higher price also, and I see 

 no reason why it should not be practiced here. 



Soft water should be used in preference to hard water. 

 Streams with sandy, or what is better, gravelly bottoms, 

 must be selected, and about waist deep. If the stream has 

 a muddy bottom the soil will adhere to the wool, making 

 it worse than before. Many persons purposely select a bed 

 of mud, and incorporate as much as possible in the wool, so 

 as to add to the weight of the fleece. But this is a poor 

 method of cheating, and will be readily detected by the 

 buyer, who, awake to his own interest, will dock the value 

 more than sufficient to overbalance the addition. Soft water 

 leaves the wool, when dry, soft and pleasant to the feel, as 

 it does not deprive the wool of its grease or yolk-like water 

 that has lime in it, which leaves the wool rough and harsh 

 to the fingers. 



The stream being agreed on, a pen is built on its banks 

 into which the sheep are driven. The pen has a narrow 

 alley leading down to the water, and ending in a small plat- 

 form, from which the sheep are plunged directly into the 

 water. The washer should be careful not to handle the 

 sheep by the wool, as it impaires the wool and skin, often 



