SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 173 



some advance upon the prices of their wool. In confirma- 

 tion of this, Mr. Samuel Lawrence, of Lowell, Mass., an 

 eminent woollen manufacturer, states the following : " These 

 cheating practices are short-sighted, inasmuch as the ' clean 

 thing' brings a price proportionate. We always fix the 

 price per lb. by the quantity of scoured wool it will yield. 

 In our purchases we frequently make a difference of five 

 cents per lb. in precisely similar qualities." This advance 

 will amply compensate for the longer time required in wash- 

 ing our sheep well, and if acted upon, with many of us, our 

 characters for honesty will be considerably amended. 



Bucks, especially of the Merino breed, require an extra 

 time to wash them, and if a little soft soap should be used, 

 their fleeces will not lose anything in value in the estima- 

 tion of the manufacturer. 



After the washing is completed, the sheep should be turned 

 upon a thick-covered sward, that no dirt may collect on the 

 fleeces, before they are shorn. Driving them along a dusty 

 road must be avoided, if possible, when returning from the 

 washing. 



The Spanish custom is to cleanse the fleece with soap, 

 after it is shorn, the grease or yolk abounding to such a de- 

 gree, with its concomitant dirt, as to preclude the possibility 

 of cleansing it properly in the ordinary way. 



In England, the breeds having less of gum than others, 

 washing is comparatively easy, and, where practicable, is 

 done by swimming the sheep to and fro in a pond or stream, 

 and gently squeezing the wool with the hands. 



The washing of Saxony sheep in Germany and other parts 

 of the Continent, conforms to the better modes adopted in this 

 country, but is performed with far greater nicety and care. 



On the authority of the manufacturer above named, Span- 

 ish wools, after being washed with soap, as already men- 

 tioned, lose 10 per cent, by the manufacturer's process of 

 cleansing ; German or Saxony wool 24 per cent., but i^ accom- 

 ?nodated, that is, the skirts and head taken off', only 16 per 

 cent. ; the Australian or New South Wales wools about 30 

 per cent. ; American Saxony averages 36 per cent., and Amer- 

 ican pure blood Merino 42i per cent.* The waste from South 

 American wools is enormous, being from 70 to 80 per cent. ; 



* It is proper to state that all manufacturers do not agree with Mr. 

 Lawrence in opinion, many of them estimating the waste of American, 

 Saxon, and Merino wool to be a little less than above stated. 



15* 



