296 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



place not all that could be desired, the washer should 

 accompany them until they are entirely out of the water. 

 It may be necessary for him to hold them for a few sec- 

 onds, as should they attempt to walk at once the weight 

 of water in the fleece may cause them to fall. 



Tagging sheep when washed — Tagging means re- 

 moving from the sheep wool that may have become so 

 mixed with excrement that it hangs in clots around the 

 buttock, especially that portion of it around and under- 

 neath the tail. This condition results from a laxness of 

 the bowels, usually caused by feeding too freely on succu- 

 lent grasses while these are yet soft and full of succulence. 

 Merinos, and especially the lambs subsequently to wean- 

 ing, are much liable to injury from soiling with urine in 

 hot weather in both males and females. These condi- 

 tions, if allowed to increase assume in some instances an 

 aggravated form, insomuch that the wool covering the 

 buttock, or soiled by urine, becomes a mass of filth, in 

 which maggots may breed. This may be prevented, in 

 part at least, by cutting off the locks of wool thus con- 

 taminated as soon as such contamination appears. If this 

 has not been given attention sooner, it should be done in 

 the inclosure from which the sheep are taken to be 

 washed. The better plan, however, is to remove the locks 

 of wool thus contaminated as soon as such soiling of the 

 wool is noticed. This will aid much in preventing the 

 soiling of the wool adjacent. An old pair of shears, well 

 sharpened, may be advantageously used in removing the 

 soiled locks of wool. But tagging also refers to the re- 

 moval of locks that may have been loosened from some 

 cause from the surface of the body, and which, if not re- 

 moved, will ultimately fall off and be lost. 



As already intimated, the best time to begin the 

 tagging is as soon as it appears. It may be necessary to 

 repeat the tagging should additional soiling occur. When 

 aggravated and prolonged, the better plan would be to 

 confine the sheep and put them on a dry diet until the 



