WASHING, SHEARING AND MARKING. 167 



states. It is a trade that any vigorous young 

 man may learn with sure expectation of mak- 

 ing good wages for some weeks each season. A 

 good shearer will shear from 45 to 100 sheep 

 in a day, using common hand shears. He will 

 get for his service' from 4 to 10 cents each, per- 

 haps 6 cents being the average price. 



Tlie shearing place should be in some light, 

 airy part of the bam. A clean platform on 

 which to work is necessary. If nothing else is 

 available, since sheep bams have usually the 

 natural earth for floor, a spare barn door may 

 be taken from its hangings and laid down for 

 temporary use. A small pen close by holds 

 enough sheep in readiness to keep the shearer 

 busy for some hours. 



In back regions it is customary to tie the 

 legs of the sheep, place it on a low platform or 

 box and set two men, or one man and a boy 

 at work cutting off the fleece. This is a child- 

 ish and unskilled method that should not be 

 imitated. 



The sheep is a peculiar animal, directlv 

 sensitive to touch. Tie the legs, or even touch 

 them, it responds by struggling to be free. 

 Turn it so that it can not get its feet to the 

 ground and its struggles cease, as though it 

 knew the hoBelessness of struggling. 



Following this thought, if one attempts to 

 hold a horned sheep by the horn it continues 

 to struggle and can not seem to understand 

 why it is not free. It can not feel the press of 

 the hand upon the horn. Hold the same sheep 

 by a touch under the chin and if it has had 



