The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-02-06
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
sheep and shearine.

finest natural grazing country for sheep
in the world is the Province of Buenos
Ayres. The Merino eheep is, par ex-
excellence, the sheeK for grazing in
large focks, as it hero far better than
any other kind; in faosk it would be i'm
practicable to herd Sng woods from
their scratching prop( ssities. Sheep in
BuenosAyres not only supply the prin-
cipal God of the people, but their
manure Is largely used as fuel. The
camping places become mounds of it,
and it y cut into cakes like turf, dried
and st$wed away for use. Shesring
is done by both men and women.
There are men employed especially to
catch the sheep in the pen, drag it 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 hundred is good shearing
for man, and from fifty to seventy
i've for woman, though l 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 | think there is no doubt
the tying is BEST for the sheep, as the
shearers (who are very jealous lot in
Australia) have little OF no patience
with kicking sheep.
One of the strangest sights to me in
Virginia when l first came here was to
see sheep being sheared. The animal
might term sheet anchors to it's 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 ships in it's 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 praeticed, 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 l 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
airy consideration, strongly prefer the
Downs sheep, say Shropshiredown.
Some years ago was very much struck
with remark made by the late Mr..
Boiling Haxall When l asked him
why he preferred the Cotswolds, which l
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, l con-
cluded at once those were the sheep to |
go through the winter with While it |
is important to have ewes in good order, |
especially in the fall, 1 have known
many losses in very small locks through |
ewes being very fat-the best remedy
being to increase the flock with regard |
to profit and losses.
l must say that if had been as fort
innate with every thing here as 1 have
been with sheep, that should be more |
in love with Miss Virginia than | am
just at present-as tank she has treat |
ed me very severely lately in the mat
ter of grape vines-so much so that last |
year my flock Of seventy-three sheep re-
turned me 1886, against S23s from some
%, 600 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 drive Of ten miles. Mr.. Louis
Block, to whom 1 generally sell, tells
ne he has become noted in New
York for having the best early
ambs, which l am afraid this
section fails to fully Tor any thing like
rlly) appreciate, or else the sheep in
lustry would be extending and flourish
ag, instead of las 1 am led to belieye)
and depressed. l believe the
diverse cause is undisputed, and the
emedy is in the farmers own hands
icing simply the want of dog law such
8 they have in many counties of Vir-
'inia. | contend that certain number
+ sheep can be run on every farm in this
ection at an inappreciable cost, that is,
he returns from them would be pure
'roft if you except summer run on the
poorest corner of the farm, and even that
hey would pay the rent of by enriching
t. The winter picking around the house
+ the vineyard would not otherwise be
made use of.
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