i4 The Financial Aspect of Sheep-washing, [april, 



time, such flock would then have to be shorn in the unwashed 

 condition. With foot-rot the case is not so free from danger, 

 but by walking the sheep over freshly slaked lime, or through 

 a bluestone trough on their return from the wash, the risk 

 from this cause would be reduced to a minimum. 



The Advantages of Washing. — These are several, and 

 placed in the order of importance are: — 



(i) Increased Value obtained per fleece. — This often leaves 

 a very substantial profit. It has already been shown what 

 this amounted to for a flock of 500 sheep in 1901. But a 

 fairer result is obtained by taking the averages of the three 

 years investigated, as shown in Table VI. below. 



Table VI. 



Year. 



Increased Value (in 

 pence) per Fleece 

 by Washing. 



Profit (in pence) per 

 Fleece, after deducting 

 cost and risk at x\d. 

 per head. 



1901 



6-85 



5 '35 



I904 



2' 37 



0-87 



1908 



7 '8: 



6-31 



Average 



5-67 



4-i7 



The average profit per fleece is thus found to be 4*17^. per 

 head, and 4*17^. per head on a flock of 500 sheep results in 

 a total profit of £8 13s. gd., or of £$ 45. 3 d. on a flock of 

 300 sheep. In the case of the year 1908, the profit per head 

 of &sid. works out to no less a sum than £13 2s. nd. on 

 a flock of 500, or £j 17s. gd. on 300. 



If a selection be made of special classes of sheep as, e.g. 

 Southdown tegs (Table I.), it is seen that the profit in this 

 case would be considerably higher, viz., £24 2s. nd. for 

 a flock of 500 sheep, or £14 gs. gd. for one of 300. 



With such favourable results there should be little 

 hesitancy in washing sheep, and farmers will reap the benefit 

 of renewing the practice of washing where it has been aban- 

 doned. Nor need those farmers who have never relinquished 

 the practice of washing fear that if washing becomes 

 general the price of wool will come down, for the clip of 

 the British Isles supplies little more than one-fourth (viz., 

 27 per cent.) of the total home consumption, which for the 



