140 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
. &£* 
Sheep Washing and Shearing. 
Washing and shearing sheep may be made 
ea9y or troublesome, as more or less attention 
and skill are applied to the business. All the 
disoomforts sometimes attendant on it, may be 
avoided by proper preparation and 
judicious management. Where 
there is no stream, washing may be 
done in a tank, into which water 
may be pumped with a force-pump 
and hose. If a stream is at hand 
which affords three feet of fall, a 
spout may be arranged as in figure 
1. By either method there is no 
necessity for the operator to enter 
the water. If not more than a 
dozen or twenty sheep are to be 
washed, a sufficiently large tank is 
not a costly affair, and the water 
left after the. washing will in the 
shape of liquid manure pay for the 
trouble of making it. The water 
in which sheep have been washed 
contains much potash, and, if pos- 
sible, should be scattered over a 
meadow. Where a large flock is 
to be handled, it will pay to make 
a dam in a stream, and use the ap- 
paratus shown in fig. 1. It consists 
of a spout from the edge of the 
dam, which conveys a stream of 
water under which the sheep are 
washed. A floor of planks laid 
loosely to permit the water to es- 
cape between them, is placed 
across the stream, aud a pen to 
confine the waiting sheep is built 
near it. The sheep, having been 
previously tagged aud freed from 
all lumps of adhering dirt, are 
brought one by one beneath 
the spout, and the fleece well washed. It 
is a great help to the washing, if the sheep 
can be exposed the day previously to a 
warm rain, which will loosen aud soften the 
dirt on the wool. When the fleece is washed, 
the excess of water is squeezed out of the wool 
and the sheep permitted to escape at the oppo- 
site side of the stream, if possible into a clean 
pasture-field or meadow. It is better to have 
by a pair of rubber boots, and a rubber apron 
will protect the body from splashes of water. 
When all is ready for shearing, the sheep 
should be put into a clean and well-littered barn- 
yard; the barn-floor, or the floor of a shed 
specially provided, should be swept perfectly 
PLATFORM AND EPOUT FOR WASHING SHEEP. 
clean, and kept so during the operation. As 
the sheep are brought in one at a time, the ani- 
mal to be shorn is placed on its rump, with its 
side against the operator's knees, and its back 
towards his left hand as he stands in an upright 
position. Stooping slightly, he is able with the 
shears to cut the wool from the sheep's neck all 
round, down as low as the shoulders, by turning 
the sheep a little now and then. Then stoop- 
restrain its motion. Then the side of the sheep 
is shorn completely, the clipping always being 
in lines from the belly towards the back. When 
the left side is completed, the fleece is gathered 
up closely towards the sheep's back, and the 
animal is turned over on to the shorn side, the 
head being still kept quiet by one 
foot resting on the neck. The right 
side is then shorn similarly to the 
left, and the sheep is released. 
Before allowing it to go, however, 
the cuts, which will in all cases be 
made more or less, should be 
dressed with a mixture of tar, hog's- 
lard, aud a few drops of turpen- 
tine, to prevent flies from depos- 
iting their eggs, 'which would in 
a very short time, if neglected, 
hatch and seriously injure the 
sheep. The fleece should now be 
cared for. It should be taken up 
and spread en a table (see fig. 2), 
or on a clean part of the floor, all 
dirt picked off from it, any loose 
tags placed in the center, and the 
sides folded towards the middle, 
when it may be rolled up into a 
compact bundle twelve to sixteen 
inches in length, and secured by 
two strings of twine tied tightly 
around at equal distances from the 
end. We think it hardly neces- 
sary to caution farmers against the 
practice of putting soiled tag-locks 
into their fleeces. ' It is sometimes 
done however, but real!}' such a 
caution should be as unnecessary 
as one against stealing. A farmer 
should never be ashamed to look 
a wool-bu3 r er in the face after sell- 
ing his fleeces to him. When the 
fleeces are tied up, they had better 
be bagged at once and kept in a dark room, 
neither dry nor damp, until sold. If very dry, the 
wool becomes harsh ; if damp, the first touch re- 
veals the fact, and a lower bid is the consequence. 
A moderate dampness is no injury, and gives soft- 
ness to the wool. Proper preparation for mar- 
ket and neatness in packing always pays with 
all sorts of produce, by securing an advanced 
price or a readier sale. Finally, it is economy 
FOLDING FLEECES. 
them kept a few days in such a clean pasture 
before shearing, to permit the fleece to recover 
the natural softness which results from the oil 
or grease absorbed from the skin. By this plan 
of washing there is no necessity of wetting even 
the operator's feet, which may be kept quite dry 
hack for shoeing HORSES.— (.See preceding page.) 
ing, he is able to cut half-way down its body, in to shear close— the wool near the skin being 
liue3 from the belly towards the back, from heavier, because it contains a greater portion of 
which the wool is cut as far as the back-bone. yolk. If the buyer complains of the uneven 
The sheep is then permitted to fall gently on its strength or texture of the wool, it is due to want 
right side, aud the shearer, kneeling on one knee, of care or neglect in feeding, which has affected 
holds his other on the sheep's neck, lightly, to the growth or health of the sheep. 
