SHEEP-SHEARING. 81 



clean wheat straw, and then stretching the canvas barn- 

 sheet over, and nailing it down. This makes a sort of 

 cushion for the convenience of the shearers, and also 

 helps to keep the fleece clean, which is of great conse- 

 quence. A sufficient number of sheep for the day's 

 shearing have, perhaps, been kept under cover all night, 

 that their fleeces may be in good order; and early in 

 the morning the shearers begin their task. 



The hoofs and coats of the sheep being examined, 

 and all dirt removed, the animal is pulled back on its 

 haunches, and the shearer, falling on one knee, proceeds 

 to remove the short wool on the under-parts of the 

 body, beginning at the throat. For this he uses clip- 

 ping-shears, the bend of which acts as a spring to keep 

 the blades apart. There is some art in using this sim- 

 ple instrument, so as to avoid cutting the animal ; and 

 young beginners often make sad wounds in the sheep 

 by not keeping the points clear of the skin. 



In some places the wool is cut lengthways, in others 

 it is cut round the body ; the latter is the most general 

 plan. The wool of the under-part of the sheep is 

 therefore cut regularly across from side to side ; and 

 when this is completed, the animal is turned gently over 

 upon its side. 



The shearer now falls on both knees, supporting the 

 shoulders of the sheep against them, and leaving the 

 animal as much at ease as possible. In this position he 

 clips the wool from the head, and back of the neck, and 

 so on down the side of the animal to the tail. Then, 

 turning the sheep on its clipped side, he does the same 

 for the other side, gently holding down the head of the 

 animal by placing his legs across the neck. He soon 

 frees the sheep from its fleece, and allows it to scramble 

 to its feet, taking care, however, that it does not get 

 entangled in the wool, and tear it. It is then marked 

 with the owner's name, with an iron dipped in a mix- 

 ture of lamp-black, tallow, and tar. 



There are various ways of holding the sheep during 

 G 



