SHEARING.

The time which should elapse between washing and shearing depends

altogether on circumstances. From four to six days of bright, warm

weather is sufficient; if cold, or rainy, or cloudy, more time must

intervene. Sometimes the wool remains in a condition unfit for shearing

for a fortnight after washing. The rule to be observed is, that the

water should be thoroughly dried out, and the natural oil of the wool

should so far exude as to give the wool an unctious feeling, and a

lively, glittering look. If it is sheared when dry, like cotton, and

before the oil has exuded, it is very difficult to thrust the shears

through, the umer is checked, and the wool will not keep so well for

long periods. If it is left until it gets too oily, either the

manufacturer is cheated, or, what more frequently happens, the owner

loses on the price.

[Illustration: FLEECE.]

Shearing, in this country, is always done on the threshing-floors of the

barns--sometimes upon low platforms, some eighteen or twenty inches

high, but more commonly on the floor itself. The place where the sheep

remain should be well littered down with straw, and fresh straw thrown

on occasionally, to keep the sheep clean while shearing. No chaff or

other substance which will stick in the wool should be used for this

purpose. The shearing should not commence until the dew, if any, has

dried off from the sheep. All loose straws sticking to the wool should

be picked off, and whatever dung may adhere to any of the feet brushed

off. The floor or tables used should be planed or worn perfectly smooth,

so that they will not hold dirt, or catch the wool. They should all be

thoroughly cleaned, and, if necessary, washed, preparatory to the

process. If there are any sheep in the pen dirty from purging, or other

causes, they should first be caught out, to prevent them from

contaminating others.

The manner of shearing varies with almost every district; and it is

difficult, if not impossible, to give intelligible practical

instructions, which would guide an entire novice in skilfully shearing

a sheep. Practice is requisite. The following directions are as plain,

perhaps, as can be made:

The shearer may place the sheep on that part of the floor assigned to

him, resting on its rump, and himself in a posture with his right knee

on a cushion, and the back of the animal resting against his left thigh.

He grasps the shears about half-way from the point to the bow, resting

his thumb along the blades, which gives him better command of the

points. He may then commence cutting the wool at the brisket, and,

proceeding downward, all upon the sides of the belly to the extremity of

the ribs, the external sides of both sides to the edges of the flanks;

then back to the brisket, and thence upward, shearing the wool from the

breast, front, and both sides of the neck, but not yet the back of it,

and also the poll, or forepart, and top of the head. Then "the jacket is

opened" of the sheep, and its position, as well as that of the shearer,

is changed by the animal's being turned flat upon its side, one knee of

the shearer resting on the cushion, and the other gently pressing the

fore-quarter of the animal, to prevent any struggling. He then resumes

cutting upon the flank and rump, and thence onward to the head. Thus one

side is complete. The sheep is then turned on the other side--in doing

which great care is requisite to prevent the fleeces being torn--and the

shearer proceeds as upon the other, which finishes. He must then take

the sheep near to the door through which it is to pass out, and neatly

trim the legs, leaving not a solitary lock anywhere as a lodging-place

for ticks. It is absolutely necessary for him to remove from his stand

to trim, otherwise the useless stuff from the legs becomes intermingled

with the fleece-wool. In the use of the shears, the blades should be

laid as flat to the skin as possible, the points not lowered too much,

nor should more than from one to two inches be cut at a clip, and

frequently not so much, depending on the part, and the compactness of

the wool.

The wool should be cut off as close as conveniently practicable, and

even. It may, indeed, be cut too close, so that the sheep can scarcely

avoid sun-scald; but this is very unusual. If the wool is left in

ridges, and uneven, it betrays a want of workmanship very distasteful to

the really good farmer. Great care should be taken not to cut the wool

twice in two, as inexperienced shearers are apt to do, since it is a

great damage to the wool. This results from cutting too far from the

points of the shears, and suffering them to get too elevated. In such

cases, every time the shears are pushed forward, the wool before, cut

off by the points, say a quarter or three-eighths of an inch from the

hide, is again severed. To keep the fleece entire, which is of great

importance to its good appearance when done up, and, therefore, to its

salableness, it is very essential that the sheep be held easily for

itself, so that it will not struggle violently. No man can hold it still

by main strength, and shear it well. The posture of the shearer should

be such that the sheep is actually confined to its position, so that it

is unable to start up suddenly and tear its fleece; but it should not be

confined there by severe pressure or force, or it will be continually

kicking and struggling. Clumsy, careless men, therefore, always complain

of getting the most troublesome sheep. The neck, for example, may be

confined to the floor by placing it between the toe and knee of the leg

on which the shearer kneels; but the lazy or brutal shearer who suffers

his leg to rest directly on the neck, soon provokes that struggle which

the animal is obliged to make to free itself from severe pain, and even,

perhaps, to draw its breath.

Good shearers will shear, on the average, twenty-five Merinos per day;

but a new beginner should not attempt to exceed from one-third to

one-half of that number. It is the last process in the world which

should be hurried, as the shearer will, in that case, soon leave more

than enough wool on his sheep to pay for his day's wages. Wool ought not

to be sheared, and must not be done up with any water in it. If wounds

are made, as sometimes happens with unskilful operators, a mixture of

tar and grease ought to be applied.

Shearing lambs is, in the Northern climate, at least, an unprofitable

practice; since the lamb, at a year old, will give the same amount of

wool, and it is thus stripped of its natural protection from cold when

it is young and tender, for the mere pittance of the interest on a

pound, or a pound and a half of wool for six months, not more than two

or three cents, and this all consumed by the expense of shearing. Much

the same may be said of the custom, which obtains in some places, of

shearing from sheep twice a year. There may be a reason for it, where

they receive so little care that a portion are expected to disappear

every half year, and the wool to be torn from the backs of the remainder

by bushes, thorns, etc., if left for a long period; but when sheep are

inclosed, and treated as domestic animals, although there may be less

barbarity in shearing them in the fall also, than in the case of the

tender lambs, there is no ground for it on the score of utility; since

any gain accruing from it cannot pay the additional expense which it

occasions.

COLD STORMS occurring soon after shearing sometimes destroy sheep, in

the northern portions of the country, especially the delicate Saxons;

forty or fifty of which have, at times, perished out of a single flock,

from one night's exposure. Sheep, in such cases, should be housed; or,

where this is impracticable, driven into dense forests.

SUN-SCALD. When they are sheared close in very hot weather, have no

shade in their pastures, and especially where they are driven

immediately considerable distances, or rapidly, over burning and dusty

roads, their backs are sometimes so scorched by the sun that their wool

comes off. If let alone, the matter is not a serious one; but the

application of refuse lard to the back will hasten the cure, and the

starting of the wool.

TICKS. These vermin, when very numerous, greatly annoy and enfeeble the

sheep in winter, and should be kept entirely out of the flock. After

shearing, the heat and cold, the rubbing and biting of the sheep, soon

drive off the tick, and it takes refuge in the wool of the lamb. Let a

fortnight elapse after shearing, to allow all to make this change of

residence. Then boil refuse tobacco leaves until the decoction is strong

enough to kill ticks beyond a peradventure, which may be ascertained by

experiment. Five or six pounds of cheap plug tobacco, or an equivalent

in stems, and the like, may be made to answer for a hundred lambs.

This decoction is poured into a deep, narrow box, kept for the purpose,

which has an inclined shelf on one side, covered with a wooden grate.

One man holds the lamb by its hind legs, while another clasps the fore

legs in one hand, and shuts the other about the nostrils, to prevent the

liquid from entering them, and then the animal is entirely immersed. It

is then immediately lifted out, laid on one side upon the grate, and the

water squeezed out of its wool, when it is turned over and squeezed on

the other side. The grate conducts the fluid back into the box. If the

lambs are regularly dipped every year, ticks will never trouble a flock.