186 STOKMS APTKB SHEARING. 



sheep, those of particular crosses, etc., etc. It is a great 

 convenience to have even permanently numbered sheep also 

 receive this annual numbering on the body, so that they 

 can be readily distinguished in the field, without catching, 

 and at some distance. All marks should be put on near the 

 spine to prevent rubbing before the paint is dry. 



Stoems aftbb Shearing. — It is remarkable how readily 

 even hardy sheep perish if exposed to very cold storms soon 

 after shearing. A cold rain-storm accompanied with a north- 

 west wind, occurred in Central New York in 1860, during the 

 height of shearing, a little after the middle of June. It came 

 on a day which had opened pleasantly, and many farmers 

 having made their preparations and having their sheep under 

 cover, shut their doors and k,ept on shearing. Some, with 

 singular thoughtlessness, turned the new-shorn sheep out as 

 usual. Probably three hundred perished within a circle of a 

 few miles. In one case within my knowledge, a wool buyer 

 approaching a barn found a number of dead and dying sheep 

 lying about. On entering the closed barn he found the farmer 

 and his assistants shearing away in high glee and turning 

 out new victims. They had not even thought to look out ! 



When death is not directly produced by such exposure, 

 the sheep are apt to contract obstinate catarrhs, and exhibit' 

 other symptoms of unthriftiness for a considerable period 

 afterwards — a very bad way of commencing the summer, 

 particularly for ewes having larnbs. Sheep should be housed 

 on cold nights and during cold storms for a few days after 

 shearing ; and in default of conveniences for this, they should 

 be driven into dense forests and to situations most sheltered 

 from cold winds. 



Very early shearing should be considered out of the 

 question in climates like those of the Northern States, without 

 a sufiicient supply of barns and sheds to shelter every sheep 

 on the farm in case of necessity. But, in truth, the early 

 shorn sheep do not appeai- to suffer as much, in proportion, 

 from cold. The change to them is not so great or sudden as 

 when cold storms follow shearing after they have been 

 sweltering in their fleeces in hot weather. New-shorn sheep 

 rapidly become inured to much colder weather than they 

 could endure at first, and this long before their wool has 

 grown enough to ofiier them any additional protection. 



Sun - Scald. — This is very rare now, but was not so when 

 Saxon sheep abounded in the country. ■ It was the fashion to 



