Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1900-02-01

of Feeding Upon Lambs
and Wool.

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There are many ways to winter
sheep, varying with the age of the ami
mails and what is expected from them
To merely keep them through the win
ter In what is called store condition is
the way that many old farmers adopt
even with breeding ewes. says The
American CultiYator. But such man
agement does not pay, for the lambs
will show the effect of the poor keep
ing, and many of them will die The
fleece will also be deteriorated, for
whenever the animal is badly nourish-
ed it makes a weak place in the wool
and lessons its value. All wool deal
ers and manufacturers know that the
wool from a flock of wethers is al
ways presumably better than from a
ram or a flock of ewes. In the ewes
especially there is sure to be some fe-
yer during CESSATION. and this has a
bad effect upon the wool that is being
formed during this period. So long as
the sheep is free from fever there is a
natural secretion of oil that keeps the
skin and the fleece moist. Fever dries
this up. making the skin dry and the
fleece harsh to the touch Such wool
cannot be easily combed and carded.
More often the injury to wool is done
by overlooking animals that are being
fattened. The sheep can digest even
poor feed, keeping itself vigorous and
its fleece healthy so long as it gets
sufficient in amount and of the proper
nutritive value. 1t needs plentiful sup
plies of proteids to make the fleece
grow properly. Unless these are given
in some form there is sure to be trou-
bic with the fleece when it comes to
the manufacturer. Yet this is a mat
ter that average wool buyers very
seldom look into. Quite frequently in
looking over a fleece there will be
found a streak running through it at
about the same distance from the sur.
face that will show hard and dry,
while beneath the wool will be moist
or rather oily. as good wool ought to
be. Sometimes this will stop further
growth. But if the check was only
temporary and quickly recovered from
there will be fine threads of wool grow
ing through the harsh portion and
branching out into good wool at the
surface. But this no less than where
the wool growth is entirely arrested
makes a weak place when the cloth is
to be woven.
There is not enough discrimination
made in judging the quality of wool as
brought to the market by farmers.
Most of the buyers are not so good
judges as the farmers themselves. who
can tell when shearing a sheep many
of the conditions under which different
parts of the fleece were grown. The
manufacturer knows the effect which
is produced In the fleece, but he can
only guess the cause. BY putting to-
gether what the farmer knows and
what the manufacturer finds in work
ing up the fleece a great deal of valua-
bic information may be secured how
to keep sheep at all times and how to
feed and manage them so as to secure
the best feeces. We knew many years
ago a wealthy wooden manufacturer
who was also keeper of fine wooded
sheep. He told us that it was his ex-
perience in working up wool from ami
mails that he had himself kept that
convinced him that to make the best
wooden clothing the beginning must be
made in feeding and caring for the
flock, so as to produce suitable wool
for the purpose.