WOOL STUDIES 



313 



shearing was done June 1, the unwashed sheep produced 3.79, 

 pounds, while the washed sheep produced only 3.62 pounds of 

 scoured wool. These small and irregular differences can scarcely be 

 regarded as an indication that washing the sheep was detrimental 

 to the growth of the wool. 



TABLE I. GREASE AND SCOURED WOOL PRODUCED 



*Only 7 fleeces were scoured from, each lot of the 1913 wool. 



fWool as removed from the sheep. 



|Wool scoured and dried to a constant weight at 150 F. 



INFLUENCE OF WASHING ON RATE OF GAIN 



Where washing sheep before shearing is practiced, a question 

 is often raised as to whether washing is injurious to the health of 

 the sheep. Table II, presenting the gains made by each lot for 

 various periods after the sheep were washed and shorn, shows prac- 

 tically no difference in the rate of gain made by the sheep that were 

 washed and by those that were not washed. This indicates that if 

 washing was detrimental to the health of the sheep, the injury was 

 not sufficiently great to influence the rate of gain after shearing, 

 for the periods shown in the table. There was no evidence that 

 washing was in any way injurious to the sheep. 



