1802.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
137 
Driving Horses—Holding the Reins. 
Many a fatal accident lias occurred, with good 
steady horses too, from the driver having a loose 
or awkward hold upon the reins just at some 
critical moment. Not only must his attention 
be upon his horses, and his eye schooled to no¬ 
tice the least unusual motion of their heads, 
ears, or gait, any loosening of a buckle, or slip¬ 
ping of the harness, but the reins must be so 
thoroughly in his grasp that at all times the 
team is fully under his control, and not only so, 
but conscious ©f it themselves. A weak, uncer¬ 
tain hold upon the lines gives a wilful horse a 
sense of unrestraint, a timorous one a lack of 
confidence in his driver, a shying, frisky, ner¬ 
vous beast all the excuse he wants to turn a 
summerset or cut some other caper. Herbert, 
(Frank Forrester,) lays great stress upon the 
manner of holding the reins, and we employ 
sketches in his “ Hints to Horsekeepers,” to illus¬ 
trate the subject. There are two methods gen¬ 
erally approved; in both the reins are common¬ 
ly held in the left hand, and the off-rein passed 
into the right hand whenever necessary. This 
must often be the work of an instant, and so in 
whatever way the lines are held, the nigh-rein 
must not be in the way, nor may the hold upon 
it slacken. In the engraving at 1, the off-rein is 
seen to pass over the fore-finger, the nigh one 
under it, and both out between the ring-finger 
and little-finger. The right hand takes the off- 
rein, as seen in 2 and 2', while at the same time 
a firm grasp is had upon the whip. At 3 we see 
another method of holding a single pair of reins, 
the off-rein in this case being between the ring- 
finger and little finger, and the nigli-rein below, 
both ends passing out over the fore-finger,beneath 
the thumb. This is not so strong or easy a 
hold. The method of holding the reins in four- 
in-hand driving is illustrated at 4, 5 and 5'; 4 
shows the left-hand holding the four reins, the 
off-reins being the upper ones, the ends passing 
down through the hand; and the nigh-reins 
held as both reins are in 3, the ends passing up, 
and over the thumb. When taken in two 
hands, the high-reins remain unchanged in the 
left hand (5'), and the off-reins are passed into the 
right hand (5), and held as in 1. In whatever way 
the reins are held in driving, the driver should 
be so familiar with them that he can, without 
giving a thought to it, as quick as thought, 
change or shift them about, and never slacken 
his hold or lose perfect control of his horses. 
Washing and Shearing Sheep. 
The object of washing is to cleanse the wool 
from the yolk or gum which is an oily soap se¬ 
creted by the skin, as well as to remove any oth¬ 
er soluble dirt from the fleece. The hard balls 
of filth which adhere to the wool will remain 
in spite of the washing, and if soaked often stain 
the adjoining fleece. In those sheep whose wool 
abounds in yolk, as the Merino, the shearing is 
much facilitated by washing, and in all kinds 
the wool is whiter, cleaner, and presents a better 
appearance. The objections to washing are, 
that unless extreme care is used, accidents will 
happen to the sheep, and this loss more than 
balances the gain to the owner. Even with 
care, colds and catarrh (“ the snuffles ”) almost 
uniformly arise from the sudden chilling bath, 
and the health of the sheep is often permanent¬ 
ly injured. Without washing, sheep may be 
safely shorn ten days to three weeks earlier than 
when we have to wait for the weather or water 
to become warm. At this season many will be 
shedding their wool, especially ewes with lamb, 
and a large share of the fleece is thus sometimes 
wasted. The loss for a few month’s time em¬ 
bracing the last of May, and first of June, prob¬ 
ably equals or exceeds the growth for the same 
period, so that one twelfth, at least, is wasted. 
To get the greatest yield of wool for the year 
we should shear early, without washing. This 
is also a saving of labor, for the labor, of wash¬ 
ing more than balances the extra trouble of 
shearing them unwashed, and it also secures the 
health of the flock. But on the other hand, buy¬ 
ers insist on deducting one third for unwashed 
wool, and the quality appears hardly as good as 
it really is. Most kinds of wool do not shrink 
one third by washing on the back of the sheep, 
but farmers will continue to roll up in tlieir 
unwashed fleeces what really’belongs to the 
dung-hill, so that perhaps it is 
not, on an average, too large 
a deduction. The best flock 
masters in many sections, are 
generally discontinuing the 
practice of washing; andbreed- 
ers of very valuable sheep 
very rarely, perhaps never, 
subject them to the operation. 
If a sheep is worth $100, the 
risk to his life and health is 
too great, and it is safe to say 
a flock of which it 
will take 20 sheep to be worth 
$100, the risk is decidedly 
greater, or rather there is al¬ 
most an absolute certainty of 
some essential damage to the 
flock by Colds contracted, etc. 
Sheep washing as practiced by 
the best farmers is on this 
wise: A morning is selected 
as early in June as the weath- 
is warm enough not to 
chill the washers or sheep, 
immediately after a good rain. 
The sheep are then well soak¬ 
ed, and half the labor is ac¬ 
complished. There is ho dust 
on the roads, and the sheep 
may return clean to their pastures. A pen made 
of boards or hurdles, just large enough to hold 
the flock and so high and firm that they can not 
possibly escape, is upon the bank of a clear 
brisk stream. A dam of a few feet in bight 
raises the water so that it flows in troughs and 
falls with some force upon the sheep held by the 
washers in a pool below, where the water is 
just deep enough to swim the sheep. By coax¬ 
ing with salt and gentle driving, the sheep are 
gathered in the pen. All rudeness in driving 
and in handling is avoided; when once frightened 
they are very difficult to manage. Two men go 
into the water to wash, a third catches the sheep, 
and a fourth helps them out of the water. If 
they have not been well tagged before, it should 
be done before washing, for the water will not 
remove the hard lumps of dung. The sheep 
must not be held by the wool, except about the 
head, for it pulls out very readily at this time. 
The washers hold the sheep under the falling 
water, squeezing the wool until the water runs 
away clear. It is surprising to see how quickly 
the fleece of a sheep, well soaked by a previous 
rain, is cleansed. 
Of all farm operations, sheep washing most 
needs “ the eye of the master." In the excitement 
of the rude scene, the flock are liable to abuse, 
and too often from crowding in the pen, heated 
from over driving, or rude handling, serious losses 
occur; and sheep are not unfrequently. found in 
the pen dead, or in a dying condition. They must 
be driven slowly from the washing to a clean pas¬ 
ture. The whole operation is a most distressing 
one to the sheep, increased almost uniformly by 
the roughness Of the men, the best of whom 
seem to thiiA i'& fine sport, and show no tender¬ 
ness or humanity in their handling of the poor 
frightened beasts. In about a week, if the 
weather is dry, they will be ready for shearing.' 
They must not only be perfectly dry but the 
yolk must flow so as to give an oily softness to 
the wool. The barn floor is usually used for 
shearing, and must be repeatedly swept as the 
fresh shorn wool is easily soiled. Careful shear¬ 
ers who will neither waste the wool by cutting 
it in two, nor wound the sheep, though this care 
makes them slower, are to be preferred to those 
