1909.] The Financial Aspect of Sheep-washing. 13 



The figures given in the above two examples, representing 

 the number of sheep washed per day, may be rather low 

 where washing is done on the farm, but they allow for time 

 taken up in driving the sheep to and from the wash-place, 

 situated perhaps a mile or more away. 



(2) Damage done to Sheep, sometimes with fatal results. — 

 Men who make a practice of carefully washing their sheep 

 year by year state that loss under this head is very small. 



In case of nursing ewes, care should of course be taken 

 not to wash with prevailing east winds; sheep should be 

 fasted several hours before washing; they should not be 

 overdriven either to or from the wash-place. With regard to 

 cases of drowning this would generally be regarded by 

 practical men as due to gross carelessness on the part of 

 the men in charge. 



In discussing the objections under this head with flock- 

 masters, the consensus of opinion seems to place such loss 

 altogether at about one sheep out of 500. 



Putting the average value of this sheep at the rather high 

 figure of 50s. (for the sheep likely to be lost from this cause 

 would probably be a weakly one), the loss on this score works 

 out to i'2d. per head. This will bring the total cost under 

 (1) and (2) to i'5<i. Hence \\d. per head of the flock will 

 cover cost and risk. 



(3) Whether it pays to wash when prices are low. — This 

 has been fully worked out in the case of the low-priced year of 

 1901 (Table II.), for one locality, viz., Guildford. The 

 average increased value of fleece for washing during this 

 year was 6'8$d. Deducting from this the costs and risk 

 i'Sd., there is left a profit of 5*35^. per fleece, which on a 

 flock of 500 sheep means a sum of £11 2s. nd. as the total 

 profit, or £6 13s. gd. on a flock of 300. 



In is interesting to notice in this connection that washing 

 paid the farmer considerably better in the low-priced year of 

 1901 than in the high-priced year of 1904. 



(4) Liability of flocks to contract contagious diseases at 

 common wash-pools. — The risk in the case of scab is not 

 very great, considering the restrictions in force in an infected 

 area, and in the case of there being no wash-place on the 

 farm, the probability is that with scab prevailing at shearing 



