96 Sheep Management, Breeds and Judging. 



A wool box may be used in tying up the fleeces, 

 the use of which will add greatly to their attract- 

 iveness. The accompanying illustration shows a 

 well tied fleece, lying on the wool box by means of 

 which it was tied. However, wool buyers prefer 

 to have the fleeces tied up neatly without the use 

 of the wool box, as less twine is then used. If one 

 is careful in removing the fleece from the sheep a 

 fleece may be tied up in a satisfactory manner 

 without the use of the wool box. 



SHEARING EWES BEFORE OR AFTER LAMBING. 



When ewes have been bred late in the fall, which 

 of course, brings them to lamb late in the spring, 

 they can be sheared before lambing. Shearing the 

 ewes before lambing has the following advantages : 

 Ewes sheared before coming in keep much cleaner 

 at the rear than those with their wool on. There 

 is also no danger of lambs biting off wool from 

 their mothers and swallowing it, which will cause 

 balls of wool to form in their intestines, thus stop- 

 ping up the bowels and killing the lambs. When 

 the ewes are shorn lambs will find their mother's 

 teats more easily, and the time taken to trim the 

 wool away around the udder is saved. An- 

 other point in favor of shearing before lambing 

 is the fact that ewes with their coats on often re- 

 main outdoors during rains or severe cold, and 



