524 TflE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK IV. 



to get them in the open pens again. At one time it seemed probable 

 that housing sheep would become somewhat general, but the practice 

 has almost entirely died out, except for show sheep. 



If it is deemed necessary to provide protection against inclement 

 weather, there is the advantage that shelter sheds do not involve large 

 expenditure, either of time, trouble, or cost. The most simple form of 

 structure will suffice. 



A common and convenient mode of providing temporary shelter 

 is by means of " stuffed " hurdles, i.e., two hurdles fastened together 

 with some two or three inches of straw firmly packed between 

 them. These provide effectual shelter when arranged with judgment, 

 and have the advantage of being easily portable, so that they can be 

 moved on with the fold. " Thatched " hurdles, and common hurdles, 

 covered with waterproof paper or roofing felt, are equally available. 



A lean-to hurdle against a side wall or fence will sometimes be the 

 best plan, and at other times a lean-to hurdle on both sides of a hurdle 

 set erect in the open field may be tried. A third plan is to set up two 

 or more rows of vertical hurdles, the rows four or five feet apart, and to 

 lay other hurdles horizontally on the top of them, to form a roof. On 

 sheep farms, a permanent fold for working in at sorting times 

 shearing, weaning, drafting, marking, &c. is an absolute necessity, 

 and such an erection is a great convenience even on arable farms 

 where sheep are kept. In the absence of a regular sheep-fold, movable 

 hurdles have to do duty when the flock or any portion of it has been 

 penned ; but in such cases it is seldom that more than one, or at 

 the most two, small pens are formed, and this accommodation is very 

 inadequate for handling more than a score or two of sheep. 



CHAPTEK IV. 



THE SHEARING OF SHEEP. 



FT1HE shearing of sheep is an object of very considerable importance 

 _L in rural economy. The time should be determined according to 

 the temperature, and the weather generally. Fat tegs are shorn at any 

 time during spring, as they are often found to sell better than when in 

 the wool. The shearing of ewes is frequently clone before the lambs 

 are weaned, so that if any udders are distended or gargety they can 

 be easily detected and attended to. If it is hot, the month of June 

 may be fixed upon, though some breeders defer it until the middle of 

 July, under the impression that an additional half-pound of wool in every 

 fleece may be obtained in consequence of the heat of the weather, and 

 the increased perspiration of the sheep. An early shearing, however, 

 is preferable, where the weather and other circumstances will admit of 



