204 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



some breeds of sheep, yield a great deal of oily mat- 

 ter, which keeps the wool soft ; and that the sub- 

 stance called yolk is on these animals more abun- 

 dant than on the dry-skinned and coarse- vvooled 

 kinds. Smearing or salving is designed to supply 

 this deficiency of oily matter, as well as to prevent 

 all cutaneous diseases, such as the scab, &c. 



The preparation used for this purpose is a mixture 

 of tar and oil ; but, when the quantity of tar is too 

 large, it is found to be rather hurtful than beneficial, 

 rendering the process of scouring difficult, and, after 

 all, leaving a stain on the wool. This is occasioned 

 by its separating from the grease with which it was 

 mi.'ied; and in such cases it accumulates on the 

 sides of the animal, matting the wool, and serving 

 as a receptacle for impurities. In too large quanti- 

 ties it has been found to be of an irritating nature; 

 rather promoting than preventing diseases of the 

 skin ; but, when only a portion of tar is incorporated 

 with the oil, its effects are good, both on the skin 

 and on the wool. In the " Mountain Shepherd's 

 Manual," a small but valuable work on sheep, pub- 

 lished by the Society for promoting Useful Knowl- 

 edge, it IS said : 



" Of late, several compositions have been proposed 

 and extensively tried, in which the spirit of tar has 

 been substituted for tar itself. This has been com- 

 plained of, in some cases, as too irritating, and there 

 is not a doubt that a too free use of spirit of tar is 

 injurious, and even fatal. Some of the salves, while 

 they prove perfectly well adapted to flocks that are 

 clean, have been found ineffectual either in curing 

 or warding off the scab : a disease which the com- 

 mon salve, made of tar and grease, seems effectually 

 to resist. When a flock is perfectly clean, olive oil 

 has been found to be the best substitute for soften- 

 ing the fleece, and warding off rain or snow. If a 

 tar salve for smearing were made so as to be free 

 from the impurities of the tar, it might probably an- 



