SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 327 



the ground, burnt logs, &c. — and they shoul|k not be driven over dusty 



roads. 



The washers should be strong and careful men, and protected as they 



are from anything but the V7ater running over the sides of the vat, they 



can labor several hours without linconvenience, and without drinking 

 •whisky until they cease to know whethei.- a sheep is well washed or well 

 treated, as was the bad old fashion. Two hundred sheep will employ two 

 expert men not over half a day, and I have known this rate much ex- 

 ceeded. 



It is a great object, not only as a matter of propriety and honesty, but 

 even as a matter of profit, to get the wool clean and of a snowy whiteness. 

 It will always sell for more than enough extra, in this condition, to offset 

 against the increased labor and the diminution in weight. 



Mr. Lawrence wrote me, a few year's since, that the average loss in 

 American Saxon wool, in scouring, (after being washed on the back,) was 

 36 per cent., and in American Merino 42J per cent. ! 



Cutting the Hoofs. — The hoofs of fine-wooled sheep grow rapidly, 

 turn up in front and under at the sides, and must be clipped as often as 

 once a year, or they become unsightly, give an awkward, hobbling gait to 

 the sheep, and the part of the horn which turns under at the sides holds 

 dirt or dung in constant contact with the soles, and even prevents it from 

 being readily shaken or washed out of the cleft of tlie foot in the natural 

 movements of the sheep about the pastures, as would take place were the 

 hoof in its proper shape. This greatly aggravates the hoof-ail, and the 

 difficulty of curing it — and in England it is thought to originate the 

 disease. 



It is customary to clip the hoofs at tagging, or at or soon after the time 

 of shearing. Some employ a chisel and mallet to shorten the hoofs, but 

 then the sheep must be subsequently turned on its back to pare off the 

 projecting and curling-under side crust. If the weather be dry, or the 

 sheep have stood for some time on dry straw, (as at shearing,) the hoofs 

 are as tough as horn, and are cut with great difficulty — and this is in- 

 creased by the grit and dirt which adheres to the sole, and immediately 

 takes the edge off from the knife. 



The above periods are ill chosen, and the methods slow and bungling. 

 It is particularly improper to submit heavily pregnant ewes to all this un- 

 necessary handling at the time of tagging. 



"When the sheep is washed and lifted out of the vat, and placed on its 

 rump on the platform, the gate-keeper 



advances with a pair of toe-nipjjers, and Fig. 21. 



the washer presents each foot sepa- 

 rately, pressing the toes together so 

 they can be severed at a single clip. 



The nippers shown in the cut, can be xoE-NiprERs. 



made by any blacksmith who can tem- 

 per an ax or chisel. They must be made strong, with handles a littla 

 more than a foot long, the rivet being of half-inch iron and confined with 

 a nut, so that they may be taken apart for sharpening. The cutting edge 

 should descend u])on a strip of copper inserted in the iron, to prevent it 

 from being dulled. With this powerful instrument, the largest hoofs are 

 severed with a moderate compression of the hand. Two well-sharpened 

 knives, which should be kept in a stand or box within reach, are then 

 grasped by the washer and assistant, and with two dexterous strokes to 

 each foot, the side crust (being free from dirt, and soaked almost as soft as 



(6-17) 



