212 



MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



but that sheep shorn early do much better than those left to be 

 shorn later on, if only for the one reason that the work of the 

 tick is somewhat curtailed. 



Since the shearing machine has practically displaced the old- 

 time hand shears, to describe how hand-shearing is done would be 

 entirely out Of place in a modern work, as shearing machines are 

 now made suitable for the shearing of large or small flocks. A 

 hand-power machine, suitable for the small flock, can be purchased 

 for something less than $10, a price within the reach of all, and 

 large plants at a proportionate cost. The hand-shears have no 

 longer a place in the shearing-shed, unless for trimming show 



The Shearing Machine in Idaho. 



sheep, tagging, etc. Any one with an idea of shearing sheep by 

 the old-hand shears can learn in a very short time how to shear 

 with the machine. In fact, a novice can learn to shear sheep much 

 quicker by machine than by the hand shears. 



The shearing machine cuts smoother and gets more wool from 

 the sheep than can be secured with the hand shears. Another 

 thing in favor of the shearing machine is that the sheep are not 

 hacked, cut and maimed as they often are with the hand-shears 

 in the hands of rough operators. The shearing machine of today 

 is not what it was a few years ago. Then it was an experiment; 

 today it is practical in every sense of the word. So far as speed 

 is concerned, the machine is all that can be desired. "Dick" Mar- 



