384 



SHE 



S^HE 



much greater inconvenience, and 

 is Sdbject to more considerable 

 waste than the purer pile, even 

 though we make every reasonable 

 a!!o>:vance for the weight ot dirt 

 which it obviously contains ; in the 

 jcnney and the loom, the m. chine? 

 emplo}ed in spinning and wcavuig 

 it, more dexterity and patience are 

 required of tlte work peoph;, and 

 the cloth which it produces is in- 

 ferior in its quahty, and smaller in 

 its quantity than might have been 

 obtained from the same pile in a 

 pure state. These objections to 

 tar, when it is applied to wool as a 

 substitute for the yolk of the sheep 

 are collected chiefly fiom the clo- 

 thiers' account of it, and appear 

 ab(uidar)tly sufficient to prompt him 

 to require a less perfucious mix- 

 ture. The only circumstance, 

 which can be mcniioncd as a coun- 

 terbalance to these objections, is 

 the consistency which it gives to 

 oil or other greasy substances, with 

 which it is mingled, whereby they 

 are retained among the pile, al- 

 though exposed to the heat of the 

 animal and (he detersive influence 

 of the rain. But if it be desirable 

 in all substitutes of this kind to 

 imitate as nearly as possible the 

 combinations of nature, we should 

 apply to the growing pile a thick 

 coating of soap in all cases where 

 the sheep is incapable from the 

 peculiarity of its constitution of 

 yielding a suflicient qujiitity of 

 yolk to secure a valuable fleece." 

 Luccodc^s Essar/ on Wool, 1312. 

 Large numbers of sheep should 

 not be penned together during 

 shearing, nor should their bigs be 

 tied together in that process. 



The wool of yearling sheep 

 should be kept by itself; because 

 it IS said to make the cloth shrink 

 unequally, if mixed with the wool 

 of older sheep. The fleeces may 

 be sorted at shearing time, makuig 

 separate parcels of the thighs, the 

 bell\, the back, and sides. Wool 

 should not be kept long without 

 wjishing, as in that case it is liable 

 to ferment and spoil in hot wea- 

 ther. After shearing, the horned 

 sheep should be examined to see 

 that the horns do not press on the 

 scull, or endanger the eyes. In 

 S!'ch case they should be sawed 

 off. tar applied to the stums, and a 

 double linen cloth tied over them 

 to keep ofl' flies. At this time 

 lambs should be docked, castrated 

 and marked. 



When evi'es are intended to be 

 fatted, the lambs must be weaned 

 early, and then if the ewes take the 

 ram again, they will fatten the 

 better. Lambs thus weaned should 

 be put in a pasture of young and 

 tender grass out of the hearing of 

 their dams, and an old wether or 

 ewe should be put with them. The 

 ewes should be milked every day 

 or two for the first week, till their 

 milk dries up. 



Lambs should be shorn the first 

 year. Laiiibs, which do not come 

 until the snow be gone, are most 

 easily reared. The rams should, 

 therefore, be kept from the ewes 

 till about five mouths previous to 

 the time the ground is generally 

 bare in the sprmg. 



In Spain twenty five ewes are 

 allowed to a ram. Mr. Living- 

 ston, of New- York, (who has writ- 

 ten an excellent treatise on sheep. 



