CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP 427 



out. At this time it should not take more than one quart of 

 the mixture to a sheep, whereas if the sheep is not shorn, it 

 will take approximately one gallon. The second dipping should 

 be in the fall, some fair day just before the sheep are placed 

 in their winter quarters. This second dipping will pay be- 

 cause of its invigorating influence, even though the sheep are 

 free from ticks. By all means, the sheep should be dipped at 

 once on the outbreak of scab unless in the very severest of winter 

 weather. 



SHEARING SHEEP 



Formerly it was the custom to wash the sheep before shearing 

 and shear later in the season than at present. This was in the 

 days of the spinning wheel and hand loom. The practice of 

 washing the wool was continued somewhat later, for it was 

 thought that it prepared the wool for the manufacture. This 

 it did not do, but it did render the wool lighter by removing the 

 natural oil and hence was a distinct disadvantage to the farmer. 



Washing sheep. — At the present time comparatively few 

 sheep are washed before shearing, though in some localities it is 

 still profitable, as buyers discriminate against unwashed wool. 

 The washing is usually done in a brook. The water should be 

 about waist deep, the bottom of the brook sandy, gravelly, or 

 rocky, and free from mud, and the shore firm, clean, and grassy. 

 There should be sufficient current to carry the dirt away when 

 pressed out of the wool. A small inclosure near the shore re- 

 strains the sheep ; one man catches the sheep, a second tags 

 them and removes the filth from the hind-quarters, while the 

 third man washes. The washer leads the sheep into the water 

 beyond its depth. The sheep is easily handled. Attention 

 should be given all parts of the fleece. The wool is pressed 

 between the open hands, which removes the dirt and discolors 

 the water. When no further discoloration can be produced, 

 the sheep is removed to the shore. The animal should be held 



