SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 317 



LETTER XII. 



SUMMER MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP. 



Taegins— necessity of— method of doing it... Burs— how avoided... Lambing— time of— Inclosures for — 

 Mechanical Assistance— when rendered— assisting the Lamb— Feeding — necessary care in— Warming — 

 Foster Ewes... Pens. .." Pinning".. .Nurabei-ing iuid Registering— advantages of— Von Thaers System of 

 Numbering — manner of doing it conveniently— Mr. Grove's foi-m of a Register.. -Castration and Docking 

 -proper time and method-.'-Washing— time— necessary apparatus — " wetting "—manner of washing — 

 ordinary waste in subsequent cleansing... Cutting the Hoofs— best time— implements— method... Time 

 between Washing and Sheaiing... Shearing— proper conveniences for— catcher's business — directions to 

 shearer— general directions. . .Shearing Lambs — shearing Slieep semi-annually— objectionable practices. .. 

 Doing up Wool— Wool Table and lYough— handhng fleece— aiTangement on table— folding— rolling— ty- 

 ing— proper twine. . -Storing Wool— Wool-Room- . .Sacking Wool— methods- - -Sorting the Flock at shear- 

 ing— how done... Marking Sheep— the proper way. ..Cold Stomis after Shearing.. -Sun-scald.. -Ticks — 

 how destroyed... Maggots— preventives.. -Cutting the Honis.. -Division of Flocks for Summer.. .Hop- 

 pling—Clogging, &c- . .Dangerous Kams. . .Fences. . .Salt.. .Tar.. .Water.. .Shade.. .Weaning Lambs.. . 

 Fall Feeding . . . Shepherd's Crook. 



Dear Sir : Agreeably to your request, and that of various other South- 

 ern friends, I proceed to give directions for the practical management of 

 sheep " plain and minute enough for the guidance of those entirely unac- 

 quainted with the subject." I will begin with their Summer Management.* 



Tagging. — If sheep are kept on dry feed through the winter, they will 

 usually purge more or less, when let out to green feed in the spring. The 

 wool around and below the anus becomes saturated with dung, which 

 forms into hard pellets, if the purging ceases. But whether this takes 

 place or not, the adhering dung cannot be removed from the wool in the 

 ordinary process of washing. It forms a great impediment in shearing, 

 dulling and straining the shears to cut through it when in a dry state, and 

 it is often impracticable so to do. It is difficult to force the shears be- 

 tween it and the skin, without frequently and severely wounding the latter. 

 Occasionally, too, flies deposit their eggs under this mass of filth prior to 

 shearing, and the ensuing swarm of maggots, unless speedily discovered 

 and removed, will lead the sheep to a miserable death. 



Before sheep are let out to grass, each one should have the wool sheared 

 from the roots of the tail down the inside of the thighs, 

 over the surface included between the dotted lines in 

 the cut. The wool should be sheared from off the en- 

 tire bag of the ewe, that the newly dropjied lamb may 

 more readily find the teat, and fi-om the scrotum, and 

 so much space round the point of the sheath of the ram, 

 as is usually kept wet. If the latter place is neglected, 

 soreness and ulceration sometimes ensue from the con- 

 stant maceration of the urine. 



Sometimes each tagger catches and holds his own 

 sheep, but it is, on the whole, better, I think, to have an assistant catch the 

 sheep and liold them while they are tagged. The latter process requires 

 a ffood shearer, as the wool must be cut off closely and smoothly, or the 

 object is but half accomplished, and the sheep will have an unsightly and 

 ridiculous appearance, when the remainder of their fleeces is taken off; 



* I have not thought it necessary to mark with (quotation points, various extracts in this Letter, from a 

 series of Letters written by me a number of years smce, and published in the " Valley Farmer." 



(G37; 



