272 



3HEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 

 Shearing of June, 1847. 



Shearing of May, 1851. 



Shearing of March, 1869. 



Shearing of May, 1877. 



Some experiments made at Eambouillet on the growth of the fleece 

 are of interest. On the recommendation of Mr. Gilbert there was made, 

 in 1798, this experiment: A ewe, eighteen months old, had never been 

 sheared ; her fleece removed in 1799 Aveighed 14 pounds 10 ounces. This 

 fleece, of which the fibers were double the ordinary length, showed no 

 loss in respect to weight, though there are few ewes which produced in 

 thirty months the same quality of wool. A second ewe, which was like- 

 wise sheared at the age of thirty months, in 1800, gave a much greater 

 quantity of wool, though she had suckled a lamb. Her fleece, which 

 weighed 21 pounds, had wool 8 inches long. The ewe of last year gave 

 in each of the two following years pounds, and the ewe sheared of 

 the same age gave the same at one shearing in two years as the other 

 gave in two shearings in the same length of time. In 1801 8 ewes were 

 sheared, of which the fleeces had two years' growth and weighed from 16 

 to 20 pounds. It appeared after the different experiments that the wool 

 which was left to grow for two years acquired double the length, while 

 it preserved its fineness and lost nothing in respect to quantity. It 

 was not observed that sheep submitted to this experiment suffered 

 much from the heat, nor that it affected their health. It was only 

 noticed that the lambs found more difficulty in sucking the ewes, because 

 of the length of the wool which entirely hid the udder. 



