418 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



number of sheds or openings made in the fleece 

 in laying it on, and which rarely close again 

 during the winter, the sheep are very liable to be 

 chilled by frosty winds, and thereby contract se- 

 rious diseases. Water in the head is thus in- 

 duced, as first pointed out by the E'tricl< Shep- 

 herd in the- Farmers' Magazine of 1812. This 

 complaint is most common after a windy and 

 sleety winter; and it is most destructive on farms 

 that are ill sheltered ; and attacks most vuulenily 

 the sheep during the first year, when ihe wool 

 naturally separates along the back, leaving it ex- 

 posed to the wet and cold. 



As a remedy to this evil, Mr. Ballantyne of 

 Holylee has salved his whole Hook, amountmg to 

 160 scores for the last three years, with the lollow- 

 ing composition or salve, viz. : 



4 lb. crude white arsenic at 7d. 



per lb., - - - - £0 5\ 



28 lbs. butter at 9s. 6d. per stone 



of 22 lbs. or 5^^. per lb., - 12 3 



5 lbs. black soap at 4d. per lb., 18 



10 lbs. rough turpenime at l|d. 



per lb., . . - - 



1 51 

 £. 15 9| 



with 30 pints of water it forms a salve for 100 

 sheep, which cost something less than l^d. per 

 head. The water being heated serves the pur- 

 pose of keeping the salve in a liquid state during 

 the time it is applied to the sheep ; and too much 

 attention cannot be bestowed on constantly stirring 

 the mixture, as the arsenic is apt to liall to the 

 bottom ; and no less attention ought to be paid 

 to the spreading of the salve in an even manner, 

 as in the event of any part of the body being ne- 

 glected, the Averiiy of the attacks of the insects 

 will be I'elt in proportion to their limited range on 

 the skin, which soon becomes encrusted with 

 scabs on the neglected spots. The only difference 

 between this salve now used by Mr. Ballantyne, 

 and that which was introduced into this country 

 in 1833, is the rouah turpentine, which from its 

 adhesive nature, not only tends to close the sheds 

 which were made in the fleece, but assists the wool 

 to retain possession of the salve during its growth 

 It is found admirably adapted for repelling external 

 moisture, preventing cutaneous diseases, and 

 killing instanily all the insects with which sheep 

 are inlested. And I have found, upon the strictest 

 examination, that the s:;eep produce a more co- 

 , pious supply of yolk or wool-grease fi-om being 

 salved with this mixture than with any other; 

 and by whatever means sheep are improved in 

 condition, there will always be a corresponding 

 increase of the fleece, which, when produced of 

 sufficient length for combing purposes, will readily 

 sell for one-eighth more per stone than that which 

 can only be used in the manufacture of woollen 

 cloth or hosiery yarn ; and it will, moreover, be 

 found upon trial to weigh at least an eighth part 

 more, thus making a difference of one-fourth in 

 favor of the wool produced from Cheviot sheep, 

 which have thus been salved. It is a well-known 

 fact to shepherds, that a successful lambing time 

 very much depends upon the condition of the 

 ewe, and that among hill-sheep the ewes are 

 much more kindly to their lambs, when them- 

 selves are in good condition and have plenty of 

 aailk, than when in low condition and unable to 



nurse them. Besides, so effective is this salve, 

 that it prevents the inclination which sheep have 

 in general lor rubbing against foggy or grassy 

 banks, whereby Ihe wool becomes impregnated 

 with impurities, which are not unfrequently found 

 in wool to so great an extent, that the labor of 

 picking it sufHciently clean adds much to its price, 

 and even alter all, the manulacturer is obliged 

 to use it to an inlerior purpose ; and it is, more- 

 over, not an uni'requent occurrence, that even 

 when (he wool has been carefully looked over 

 by the most accustomed hand and discerning eye, 

 previous to its manufacture, many of these impuri- 

 ties make their appearance in the finished article. 

 Sheep, when so salved, are seldom or never 

 found to die of falling " au;aW" or "awkward,^'' 

 that is, on their backs ; and the wool never peels 

 or falls ofl' previous to clipping. 



Wool which has been thus salved is well adapt- 

 ed for mixing with skin-wool which has been re- 

 moved from the pelt by the application of lime. 

 Sk'n-wool, when manufactured by itselli is ex- 

 tremely liable to become discolored during the hot 

 days of summer, immediately after the process of 

 oiling has been performed. A very slight ad- 

 mixture of the salve-woo! with it, acts as a com- 

 plete security against its discoloration. In scour- 

 ing, too, the quantity of soap required is conside- 

 rably less after the salve. When sheep have 

 not been salved, or been simply bathed, or so in- 

 sufficiently smeared as to be alternately wet and 

 dry, it not unfrequently happens that the woo! 

 has a brown decayed tinge at the extremities of 

 the staple, which, upon the slightest pressure be- 

 tween the finger and thumb, crumbles away. 

 Wool in this state is extremely liable to " sAeW" 

 during a storm, that is, to adhere to large pieces 

 of frozen snow, and also to be frozen to the 

 ground, from which they cannot be relieved with- 

 out a considerable loss of wool. Wool in this 

 state possesses in but a small degree the felting 

 or miZ/iHg properties, so that it is impossible lor 

 a manulacturer to make with it a cloth to suit the 

 present lisshion, and at the same time to have a 

 sufficient texture to support a proper finish. Cloth 

 made from wool in this state, although it appears 

 tolerably firm after the miilin2 process has been ac- 

 complished, is unable to resist the card or teazle 

 which instantly destroys the ftilting property, and 

 reduces it to a mere flannel. By a judicious ad- 

 mixture of salved wool with unlaid or skin wool, 

 the felling property of the unlaid is considerably 

 increased, and consequently a less quantity of it 

 is required to produce a iziven length of cloth than 

 when manufactured wholly from unlaid wool. 

 It is thereby evident that salved wool is superior 

 for woollen cloth, or for any description of goods 

 for which wool can be used. 



Wool which has been so heavily smeared, or 

 so imperfectly washed that it cannot be submitted 

 to the process of manufacture until being pre- 

 viously scoured, incurs an additional expense to 

 its prime cost of not less than 2s. per stone. The 

 most simple method of scouring wool is with hot 

 water and a fourth part of stale urine. The 

 ammonia or volatile alkali which exists in the 

 urine, combines with the oil of the wool, and 

 forms a soap, which, beinij soluble in water, is dis- 

 solved and carried off. This process of itself docs 

 not incur any thing like an expense of 2s. a stone ; 

 but, when the labqr of drying, and picking the 



