SHEEP. 



whicn, being conttantly peftered and tortured in thofe parts 

 by the flies throughout the fummer, fuffered much injury 

 in their health and condition, fome of them never recover- 

 ing. Several fheep have died immediately after {hearing, 

 owing, perhaps, to having their legs tied, which, with hur- 

 rying and tolling them about, brought on a colic or cramp, 

 putting a period to their exiftence in a moment. At that 

 time, in a flock of two hundred fhecp, we feldom efcaped 

 without the lofs of one or two in a feafon ; fince, in the 

 clipping of three thoufand and upwards annually, we have 

 not loft one thefe feven years. But, fays he, inftead of 

 tying their legs, and trying who could clip the niq/l ptr hour, 

 or Jay, we have wifely begun to try who could clip the iefi, 

 and from that change of fyftem, inftead of clipping fifty 

 (heep per day, wo think it a fair day's work to clip twenty- 

 five upon an average. Where flieep are clipped by the 

 great, and the men paid for number done, thirty or up- 

 wards may be (beared in the day ; but cur's are done by the 

 day, without hurry, and fcarcely wounding a (heep in the 

 day. Each (hearer makes his peculiar mark ou the (heep, 

 red or blue, that bad llicaring may be detefted ; an ufeful 

 ftimulus to exertion. And he thinks that the (lieep may be 

 caught by the hinder leg, above the hough, but not by any 

 means drawn backwards ; on the contrary, as foon as the 

 catcher has caught the (heep by the hough, he (liould draw it 

 backwards, until he can, with his left hand, reach the 

 throat, then, with the right hand behind its tail, he conveys 

 it along with eafe and fafety. He thus continues : thirty 

 years ago, it was the general praftice m this county (North- 

 umberland), and fome old-fafliioned bigotted people adhere 

 to it (till, to (hear the (heep thus ; the clipper firft opened 

 the belly, and then, after tying all the four legs, fat down 

 upon a fack filled with ftraw, the (heep lying between his 

 legs ; when, in the moft awkward manner, he flaflied and 

 tore the fleece off, beginning at the neck, and going down 

 the left fide firft, finilhing at the right. Inftead of clipping 

 around the (heep, as at prefent, they then clipped them 

 moftly lengthways. The preCent method is to begin at the 

 back part of tlie head, in order to give room for the (hears 

 to make their way down the right (ide of the neck, to the 

 open of the breaft. The man then fits down upon his right 

 knee, laying the head of the (heep over his left knee bent, 

 and beginning at the breaft, clips the underfide of the throat 

 upwards to the left cheek ; then takes off tlie back of the 

 neck, and all the way down below the left flwulder. He 

 then changes to the contrary fide, and makes his way down 

 to the open of the right flank. This done, he returns to 

 the breaft, and takes off the belly, after which it matters not 

 which fide he clips, becaufe being able to chp with either 

 hand, he meets his fliear.points exaftly at the middle of the 

 back, all the way, until he arrive at the thighs or leo-s. He 

 then places the (heep on its left fide, and putting his right 

 foot over the neck, and the other forward to the undermoft 

 hind leg, clears the right fide ; then turning the (heep over, 

 'fini(hc5 the whole. 



Our price for clipping ufed to be one (hilling per dozen, 

 and a gill of ale about ten o'clock, and another at four in the 

 afternoon. He fnppofes a man will have one fliilling and fix- 

 pence per dozen now ; but we clip all with our own men, 

 moftly the lliepherds, many of whom now do it moft admi- 

 rably : and we have in general prevailed upon them to clip 

 with either hand ; which is not only the eafieft for the 

 clipper, but enables him to do his work in the neateft and 

 moft complete manner. 



Thefe remarks deferve the regard uf tlie ibeep-farmers in 

 other diftrifts, as well as the following hint by Mr. Price. 

 It is, fays he, aftonilhing to fee a good (hearer handle a 



fheep ; he ftudies its eafo, and the (heep feems delighted in 

 its fituation. This (houlu always be the cafe with thefe ani- 

 mals, which are often much injured by coarfe management, 

 and the moil fober fteady men be conftantly employed. 



The fat fheep fhould always be fhorii earlier than thofe 

 which are lean. In the S^iith D.Twn fheep dillrift, a good 

 Ibeep-fhearer is faid to be able to (hear fifty (heep daily, for 

 which he has 2s. 6.; or is. the fcore, and board. Great care 

 fhould at all times be taken not to injure the (heep in fhearinf, 

 as the leaft cutis fometimes dangeraus, though at others not. 

 In cafes of cuts, wax ointment or well boiled tar muft be 

 ufed, and the (beep have an open airy pailure. 



The very fame method is taken in"fl\earing the lambs as in 

 that of the old fheep, which, in many diftrifts, takes place 

 nearly at the fame time, or about the latter end of June and 

 the beginning of the following month ; fome fliearing them 

 immediately on their being weaned, but others fome little 

 time before, for the fake of allowing the old ewes to become 

 fat. See Sherlixg of Lambs. 



The wnter of the " General Treatife on Cattle," (tates, 

 that the royal flocks of fine-woolled (heep in Spain are 

 (beared in the beginning of May. There are (hearing, 

 houfes, each of which will contain twenty thoufand (heep, 

 aid colt in building above five thouiand pounds ilerling. 

 To fhear a flock of fixteen thoufand fheep requires one hun- 

 dred and twenty-five men, a m^n fliearing twelve ewes, or 

 eight rams, in a day. The (heep are fweated previoufly to 

 being (beared, in a long, narrow, low gut, called the 

 fweating place, where they remain a night, crowded as clofe 

 together as the (hepherd can keep them. The (horn (beep 

 are permitted to go to pailure if the weather be fine, re- 

 turning home in the evening, to pafs the night within (belter 

 of the walls, or in the houle, if cold or cloudy ; by which 

 means they are brought by degrees to endure the open air. 



And it is a point of great conf^quence in this bufinefs to 

 have a perfon well converfant with the winding of the wool, 

 in order that it may be well performed, and look in a proper 

 manner to the buyer. In fome places the wool is laid in a 

 heap on being wound, and conveyed in the evening of the 

 fame day to the wool-lotts, or other depofitaries. Some 

 ftore their wool conftantly in upper cham.bers, as the moif- 

 tuie which is produced by it on ground floors, when it is 

 continued there for any length of time,, is fuppofed to be 

 very injurious to it. See Wool. 



Sheep-FoU, in ylgricuhure, a fpace of arable or other 

 land hurdled in for the purpofe of being manured, or a fort 

 of yard or other contrivance for the purpofe of confining and 

 keeping flieep in during the nights or in bad weather, in order 

 to afford them proteftion and fhelter. They are fometimes 

 fixed, being conftrudted of any convenient fort of light mate- 

 rials, fo as to indole a fpace in proportion to the number of 

 fheep in the form of a kind of yard or fold, which is kept 

 conftantly well littered with fome fort of dry fubftance, fuch 

 as ftubble, refufe ftraw, dry fand, &c. during the time the 

 fheep are folded and foddered in them, in order that as much 

 manure may be raifed as poffible. In fome cafes alfo, for 

 the more perfect proteftion of the fheep, they have fheds all 

 round them, under which the (beep may lie without injury 

 from rain, fnow, or any fort of moilhire. Thefe are ulually 

 termed JIanJing folds, and are either formed about the home, 

 ftalls, or in fome dry, rather elevated fituations, on the farms, 

 having the bottoms well laid v.'ith fome fort of material that 

 is capable of keeping the (heep dry and clean. And in the 

 covered fold, or what is termed cotting, which is in «le in 

 Herefordlhire, they are fometimes formed into diflerent dj- i u 

 vifions, fo as to contain certain numbers or kinds of (heep, || 

 They are, however, in other cafes formed fo as to be 



moveable. 



