304 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



then turned against the knee, and the left side of the neck 

 is trimmed, the clippers running lengthwise of the neck back 

 to its center and then to the top of the head. The sheep 

 is then turned partly around and is in position to have the 

 left shoulder shorn. Each stroke made should be to the 

 center of the back, keeping the left hand on the skin above 

 the clippers to hold it in a stretched and smooth position. 

 The left shoulder is now trimmed. The shearer should 

 hold the sheep lightly in his hand, leaving it well back 

 and pressing his knees firmly against its brisket. With 

 long, smooth and quick strokes the wool is removed from 

 the side of the sheep. When the left hind leg and 

 tail are trimmed, three or four swaths are run half way 

 up the back, the shearer standing astride and holding the 

 sheep firmly between the knees and putting the back in 

 rainbow shape as far as practicable. The clippers are then 

 run up the back and the head is trimmed. W^hen the left 

 side of the neck is shorn, the sheep is set up straight, its 

 left side being held tightly against the knees and the right 

 jaw is then trimmed. The sheep's neck is then pressed 

 down against its left side. Beginning at the under side 

 of the right side of the neck, swaths should be run down 

 to the shoulder, the clippers next working back on the 

 top of the neck. The sheep's neck is then made to drop 

 against the left side, the shearer placing his foot clear 

 over out beyond the sheep's leg, its right front knee be- 

 ing held down tightly under the same, and with inward 

 strokes the shoulder and front leg are shorn. The sheep's 

 head is then raised and the shearer's left leg is placed be- 

 tween the sheep's legs, the sheep being held against the 

 shearer while the other side and hind leg are shorn. The 

 aim should be to hold the sheep in an easy position, and 

 it will not struggle as it otherwise would. 



When sheep are shorn by hand they are in some in- 

 stances placed on a shearing bench, but more commonly 

 they are placed on a floor ; when shorn by machinery they 

 are always thus placed. When sheep are shorn in large 



