SHEEP 



617 



a uniform quality of wool will be pro- 

 duced according to the breed of sheep. 

 Anything which affects the health of the 

 animal also affects the quality of the 

 wool. During a period of sickness or 

 scant rations, the wool may temporarily 

 stop growing. When the animal recov- 

 ers, or when better rations are fed, the 

 wool begins growth again. As a result, 

 however, of this interruption, a weak 

 spot is produced in the wool which 

 greatly decreases its strength and value 

 for manufacturing purposes. 



The particular kind of ration fed, so 

 long as it is nutritious, apparently has 

 but little influence on the quality of 

 wool produced. Craig at the Wisconsin 

 station found that lambs fed grain at an 

 early age grew faster and produced 

 about 1 pound a head more wool than 

 those not fed grain. When the wool 

 was scoured, however, the amount of 

 washed wool produced by the different 

 lots was practically the same, showing 

 that the grain feeding had produced 

 more yolk in the wool but not more 

 wool. 



In another experiment, Craig fed a 

 ration having a nutritive ratio of 1 : 10 

 in comparison with a more nitrogenous 

 ration having a nutritive ratio of 1 : 3.6. 

 The sheep fed the narrow ration clipped 

 2.8 pounds unwashed and 0.8 pound 

 washed wool more than those fed the 

 wide ration. The difference in weight, 

 however, was found to be due almost en- 

 tirely to the greater yolk in the fleece 

 of the sheep fed the narrow ration. The 

 amount of wool produced is apparently 

 more a matter of breeding than of 

 feeding, other factors being equal. 



Yolk — By yolk in the wool is meant 

 the natural grease or oil secreted by the 

 skin. Under normal conditions the 

 yolk passes down through the fiber and 

 escapes apparently at the end where it 

 gradually works its way back into the 

 fleece, giving it a kind of creamy ap- 

 pearance. In healthy sheep the yolk con- 

 stitutes about one-third of the weight 

 of the fleece. At the factory, the fleeces 

 are scoured and the yolk washed out be- 

 fore the wool is used for manufacturing 

 purposes. 



We have seen that grain feeding or 

 the feeding of nitrogenous rations con- 

 tributed to the production of the yolk 

 and consequently a heavier fleece. The 

 feeding of foods rich in oil also seems 

 to favor the secretion of yolk. The yolk 



is of great importance in the fleece, as 

 it keeps it soft and compact, clean and 

 bright on the inside and is a protection 

 to the sheep in turning water. It is a 

 characteristic index of the healthfulness 

 of the sheep, since in sheep underfed or 

 unthrifty it may be nearly lacking, while 

 if present in excessive quantities, indi- 

 cated by accumulations in flakes, it may 

 be taken as a sign of unthriftiness, due 

 to overfeeding. 



Examining the fleece — The score 

 card for the wool breeds of sheep is 

 given on page 577. In examining the 

 fleece on the sheep, it is first opened over 

 the shoulder. This is the point where 

 the finest and soundest wool of the fleece 

 is likely to be found. In parting the 

 wool, the hand should be used in a flat 

 position. The poorest, coarsest wool on 

 the fleece is found on the thigh, while 

 the thinnest wooled portion is likely to 

 be found on the belly. The more nearly 

 the fleece approaches in length, thick- 

 ness and fineness the % wool on the shoul- 

 ders, the greater is the value of the fleece. 

 A dense fleece is especially desirable, as 

 it affords greater protection to the sheep 

 from cold and exposure to wind and 

 rain, and protects the inner wool from 

 dirt and dust. 



Shearing sheep— Sheep are sheared 

 once a year in all portions of the United 

 States, except the southwest, where they 

 are sheared twice a year, in April or 

 ]\fay, and again in October. The shear- 

 ing is done either by hand or by ma- 

 chinery. Good shearers in the East can 

 shear from 40 to 60 sheep a day, on the 

 average, and the price for shearing is 

 from 8 to 10 cents a head. 



Hand machines — On small farms or 

 where there are less than 400 or 500 

 sheep to shear, the use of sheep shearing 

 machines is of very doubtful economy. 

 On a small scale shearing machines are 

 run by hand power, requiring one strong 

 boy or man to turn the machine and 

 another to handle the clippers. The 

 clippers work on the principle of the 

 sickle of a mowing machine, the knife 

 moves very rapidly, the power being 

 transmitted through a flexible shaft. 

 Sheep cannot be sheared any faster by 

 machine than by hand; with care, how- 

 ever, the wool can be cut closer and 

 perhaps a little more secured a fleece 

 than by hand shearing. The extra man, 

 however, required to run the machine, 

 more than offsets any greater value of 



