l60 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



wounds will heal quickly and little pain or discom- 

 fort is experienced. Some growers use a sharp 

 knife, cutting off the tail at a single blow, while 

 others prefer to use a chisel. When the chisel is 

 used, the lamb is drawn against a block, and the 

 tail severed by a single blow, leaving a stub about 

 2 inches in length. Under farm conditions, brand- 

 ing or ear marking is usually unnecessary, while 

 under range conditions it is absolutely essential. 

 If the ears are to be marked, this may well be done 

 at the same time that the lambs are docked. 



SHEARING 



Shearing should be done as early in the season 

 as weather conditions will permit. The old cus- 

 tom of waiting until June or even midsummer be- 

 fore removing the wool was an unbusinesslike one, 

 reducing the amount and value of the wool re- 

 ceived by the owner and undoubtedly causing great 

 discomfort to the animal which had to wear this 

 heavy coat during the extremely warm weather. 

 The old custom of washing the sheep before shear- 

 ing has also passed away, and is probably no longer 

 practiced anywhere in the United States. Shear- 

 ing is done either by hand or by means of machin- 

 ery. It is very doubtful if shearing machines are 

 profitable under farm conditions where the flocks 

 handled are comparatively small. It requires two 

 men to operate a small hand-driven machine, and it 

 is doubtful if results justify the double expenditure 

 of labor thus necessitated as compared with hand 

 shearing, while the installation of a power plant 

 calls for a number of machines, which would not 

 be justified by the small number of sheep handled. 

 It is unquestionably true that a small additional 



