[146] 



further necessary to place the bundles in a bag or box, se- 

 curely fastened. It is essential to pack it in as small a com- 

 pass as possible, as the railroads charge by bulk and not by 

 weight. The best plan to do this is to place a bag that is 

 to be used under a trap-door of the barn, and while one 

 man will get into the sack with bare feet, another will hand 

 to him the bundles, which he will tread firmly into place 

 with his feet and knees, when nearly full cramming the tags, 

 which have been prepared, into the corners and odd places, 

 until the bag is full. Let it then be securely sewed up, 

 stuffing some tags in the corners to give a hand hold by 

 which the bag may be moved about. 



To prepare the tags for market, first dip them repeatedly 

 in strong salt and water made hot as the hands can bear it, 

 then wash out in soapsuds, pulling to pieces until all filth is 

 removed, and then rinsing in rain or soft water. They will 

 thus be made into very fair wool, while otherwise they 

 would be worthless. 



After the bag is sewed up, weigh it carefully, and mark 

 the weight, name and quality on it. 



This particularity of impressing so much care upon the 

 farmer in packing and shearing may be understood when it 

 is stated that every fleece of wool sheared from a sheep, 

 when it reaches the last purchaser before the manufacturer, 

 has to be sorted. The manufacturer buys only the sorts of 

 wool he wishes to use in the fabrics manufactured. Some 

 wish to convert it in jeans, some broadcloth, while others 

 use only the finer qualities for ladies 7 dresses. In fact every 

 fleece goes into some eight or ten grades. It may therefore 

 seem a light thing to pack properly, but now that the fleece 

 is opened, if it is all in a tangle, it can readily be seen how 

 difficult it becomes to properly sort it, while the well- packed 

 fleece flies with great rapidity into its proper heap under the 

 judgment of the sorter. He is generally a high-priced 

 workman, and his work goes on much faster with a trim 

 fleece than with a slovenly one, and therefore the purchaser 



