Woodville Republican. (Woodville, Miss.) 185?-current, 1889-12-21
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
Sheep and shearlng.

bneop ana 1hehrinBs
VIM. Mann, of Virginia, has written
the following interesting natter The
finest natural grazing country for sheep
in the world is the Province Of Buenos
Ayres. The Merino sheep is, par ex-
excellence, the sheep for grazing in
large focks, as it herds far better than
any other kind; in fact, it would be inn
practicable to herd long woods from
their scratching propensities. Sheep in
Buenos Ayres not only supply the prin-
cipal food of the people, but their
manure is largely used as fuel. The
camping places become mounds. Of 1t,
and it is cut into cakes like turf, dried
and slowed away for use. Shearing
is done by both men and women.
There are men employed especially TO
catch the sheep in the pen, drag 1T by
the hind leg to the shearing floor,
throw it and tie the four legs together.
The shearer bends over the animal,
generally commencing at the neck, and
untying the legs before the belly wool
is taken off. AS he lets the sheep go he
is given bit of tin as a counter. Any
thing over a hundred is good shearing
for man, and from fifty to seventy
five for woman, though have seen
one do ninety. The shearing in Aus
tralia differs only in that men only
shear, and each shearer catches his own
sheep and takes the wool off without
tying, though l think there is no doubt
the tying is best for the sheep, as the
shearers (who are very jealous lot in
Australia) have little or no patience
with kicking sheep.
One Of the strangest sights to me in
Virginia when first came here was to
see sheep being sheared. The animal
laying on table with what sailor
might term sheet anchors to its legs,
whilst the wool was being partly pulled
and partly shipped off with shears bent
at the end of the shank, the result Civ
ing the sheep the appearance of having
been pecked by hawks FROM the number
Of small snips in its flesh that it had re-
ceived. The first principle in shearing
is not to pull the wool but let it fall
from the shears, and the next is the
holding of the animal, which can only
be learnt by observation and practice.
In England more pains are taken
than in Australia, etc. Ribbing and
quartering is practiced, that is, the
shears are run through the wool in
straight grooves up and down the ribs
and across the rump, giving very neat
appearance and of course leaving a
minimum of wool, at the same time the
cutting of the mutton being very rare.
Flocks being small in Virginia, ribbing
and quartering should be in vogue here,
and would advocate interest in shear
ing being taken up by farmers clubs,
etc.
When I first came to Virginia was
told that sheep would do through the
winter without any feed unless there is
snow on the ground, which have found
to be quite true, with two things being
understood is, grass (either arti-
fetal or natural sod) and a suit
able number of sheep, the happy
number being matter of expert
ence. AS the main profit here is the
early lamb, the wool being the second
ary consideration, strongly prefer the
Downs sheep, say Shropshiredown.
Some years ago was very much struck
with a remark made by the late Mr.
Boiling Haxall. When I asked him
why he preferred the Cotswolds, which
saw on his place to the Downs, his an
swer being that he had had Shropshire
downs, but as he only kept few and
they run in very good sod around the
house, they got too fat to breed, con-
cluded at once those were the sheep to
90 through the winter with. While it
is important to have ewes in good order,
especially in the fall. I have known
many losses in very small hocks through
ewes being very fat-the best remedy
being to increase the flock with regard
to profit and losses.
must say that if had been as fort
unate with every thing here as l have
been with sheep, that should be more
in love with Miss Virginia than l am
just at present-as l think she has treat
ed me very severely lately in the mat
ter of grape vines--so much so that last
year my flock of seyenty-three sheep re-
turned me 1886, against S23S from some
$4,000 vines. 1t is only fair to the vines
to add that the time has been when 500
Delaware vines brought that amount
within two or three dollars.
My forty-one lambs last year averaged
sixty-six pounds on the Goth of May,
after a drive of ten miles. Mr. Louis
Block, to whom I generally sell, tells
me he has become noted in New
York for having the best early
lambs, which 1 am afraid this
section fails to fully Tor any thing like
fully appreciate, or else the sheep in
lustry would be extending and flourish
ing, instead of las 1 am led to believe)
curtailed and depressed. believe the
adverse cause is undisputed, and the
remedy is in the farmers own hands
being simply the want of dog law such
as they have in many counties of Vir-
ginia. / contend that a certain number
of sheep can be run on every farm in this
section at an inappreciable cost, that is,
the returns from them would be pure
profit if you except summer run on the
poorest corner of the farm, and even that
they would pay the rent of by enriching
it. The winter picking around the house
Or the vineyard would not otherwise be
made use of.
Feeding and Fattening.