Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1862-05-30
Frv,n the Am,rieas Agricuhur',.
Washing and Shearing sheep.

WOOL will remain IN spite ut the washlns'
and Il soaked. often stain the adpining
acecc. In those sheep whose WOOL abounds
In yo!k. as the Msripo. the .hearius :. much
facilitated by washing. ani in all kinds the
wool i. ~h,ter. cleaner, and pr,scnt' BE-,
TOP arp-.rance The objections TO washin'
are. that uuic-s eItryme care ,s u-ed, acei-
dent, will happen to the .h,eP. and ,hi. lo.s
more than balances ,he gain TO the owner.
Even With care. cold, and eaiarrh, e. the
,nutflc-. y Almc-, uniformly arise IRON the
sudien chilling hath. ami the health Of the
,hc.r = often permanently injured. With
cut Washing. sheep may be safely .horn ten
diys % three week. earlier than when we
have T. Wait Tor toe weather or water TO he
cone warm. At thi. SEASON many will b.
shsijiog their wool. e-Pesially the ewes
with lamb. and a large share OF the Aeece i
thu. sometimes wasted. The loss for few
months time enbracinc the last Of May.
and fret Of June. probably equal. or tH.
eecis the growth tor the same periOd, -
that one.twslith. at least, .. wasted.
10 get the greatest yield OF WOOL Tor the
wear. We should shear early. without wash.
ing. This !. also saving Of labor. Tor the
labor Of Washing more than balances the ~
tra trouble OF shearins them unvashed, and
IL als, secures the health Of the a,ek. Ba,
on tie other hand. buycr- insis, on deduct
inr cn,-,hird fOr unwa.hei wool, and the
quality appear. hardly s good as u really
-. Mt kinds of wool DO not shrink one
third ~ wash,". on the back Of ih- -he"p.
but iarmsr. will continue to roll up in ,he'r
uuwashci ae-cc. wha, really belong. to the
dung bill. - that psrhip.i ii !. no, on an
average. too large deduction. The bes,
f,ek masters. H. many sections, are gener'
ally dl-clounu,ns the practice Of washing.
and trrcder. Of very valuable sheep very
rarely. perhaps never, .ublec, them to the
operation. II sheep - worth 500. the
rr.s 20 h,s lite and health Is too great, ard
It i .4ie to say that IN lick OF sh,c1 i,
will take 20 sheep to Dc worth 500, the
rsk j. decidedly greater, or rather there ..
almost an absolute certainty Of some essen
tal damagr 10 the aock ~ colds contracted.
etc. sheep wAshins, a. prac,iecd by the
tc., farmers, il on this wise A morning i
selected As early in June a. the weather Is
warn enough not TO chill the washer, or
sheep. Immediately after good ram. The
sheep are then we'll soaked, aud half the la
hor i accomplished. There is no dust on
the road.. and the sbeCp may return clean
q their pastures. \ pm maze Of eoard- or
hurdles, Just large enough 10 hold the a'ek
and ~ high and 6rn that they eannO, pc
sibly escape, i. upon the bank OF clear
bri.k stream. 4 dan, Of a few feet la
height. raise. the water - that II aJss 10
u1ushs and tall with some force upon the
she.p held ~ tie washers IN pool below.
whsfe the water y just dep enough ,osw'm
tie sleep. BY coaIins with sai' and gentle
driving: the sheep are gathered IN the pen.
An rpisHso in driving and handling i-
a,opd-d when once frightened they are
very d,fEcul, 10 m'nasc. Tso men go into
,hc water 10 wash. a third catches the sheep,
and fourth help, them out Of the water
1, they have not been we'll tagged before. II
should b. done before Washing tor the wa
trwi.l not remove the hard lump- Of dusg
The sheep must no, be held ny the wool. sx
cer, about the head. fur it pulls out very
readily al ,hi. time. The washers hold the
sheep under the falling water. squeezing tie
woo. until the water runs clear. is is ,ur-
Iri.ius TO sc how quickly the fleece Of
sheer, well soaked BY previous rain. 's
clran-yi.
OF all farm operations. sheep washing
most need, " fhs ~, of fis master" Ia the
cIci'smrut Of the rude scene. the a1ess are
liable % abg.e, and too often from crowd
ing m the pen, heated from over dri~ns, or
rode handling. serious loss. occur and
,heap are not unlrcquen,ly found IN the pen
dead. or IN a dying conditinn. They mu.,
BE- driven slowly from the washing u clean
pasture. Tue whole operation i most
distressing Que To the sheep. increased al'
must uniformly By the roughoe-- OF the men.
tie bes, VI whom seem ~ think lt hne sport,
and show no tri.derne>. or humanity In their
handling OF the poor frightened beasts. Ia
about a week. II the weather i. dry. they
will be ready ior sheariRs. They must mo-,
only be psri,e,ly dry bat the yols must ajw
50 as TO give an oily sOfrness to the wool.
TIE barn door .. usually used for .hearins.
aud must be repeatedly swept as the IRISH
shorn wool j. ea.,ly sOIlei. Careful shear.
er., who wall neither waste the wool by cut.
ting tn t~o, nor wound the sheep. though
this care makes thsm slower. are 10 be pre-
ierrri 10 ,bose Who cot aud slash ~ do a
great days work.
10 doing up the fleece, the inner side OF
the wool nust he out, aud there must b. no
oonesaled dirt within. The .hrewd wool
buysr buries his np~e in tho snowy fleece.
like dog after game. and external purity
will not serve 10 conceal dishonesty and tiih
lurking within. Before the .heep are turn
ed s~sy they receive the oxncrs marx up.
on their side. Use a mixtare Of spirits
turPentins. linseed oil. aud lamp black.