The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-08-13
Live Stock.
SHEEP IN THE SOUTH.

Grading-Lapping the Fleece Fully De-
scribed-A Speedy Way-WooI Brings Cash
Annually-AIways Pays Fairly Well-ship
to Commission Agent if not Close to Mar
ket-Have Clip Looking it's Best.
Correspondence OF The Progressive Farmer.
To read the previous description,
the work of shearing sheep would
seem to be intricate and difficult, but
it is not, for the writer of this has
frequently shorn q light-wooled
sheep completely in five minutes,
and could turn off the shearing bench
four to the hour all day. Greasy,
close wooled and very wrinkly
sheep are much harder to shear and
require more time to make smooth
shearing and avoid cuts, but the
same mode Of operation will COM
pletely adjust itself to the removal
of the f1eebe from all kinds of sheep.
There is no system or mode that
will accomplish the work with more
facility and comfort to the operator
nor with more ease to the sheep, nor
less fuss with it, than this method
desert bed.
Shearing sheep with patent ma
chimes or clippers has had long pull
of it for popularity and general use.
The patent protected high price here
tofore maintained for clippers and
machines has been the main factor
which hindered more general use. 1t
surely is possible to invent clipper
and machine that will shear sheep
as smoothly and more rapidly than
with common shears, but if such
monopolistic manufacturing con-
Germs cannot spend few dollars in
The Progressive Farmer for the
benefit of Southern wool growers, it
certainly is not my business to do it,
especially when I know they can
proftably shear them the old way.
In writing here do not claim to
be an emperor Or king in the busi
ness, but only one trying to clearly
voice the varied knowledge and ex-
perience of hundreds, for the benefit
of thousands who have not yet had
time to attain so much. Ny knowl-
edge CLEANED from experience and
thought in the science and art of
sheep shearing is such that will Un-
hesitatingly say that any machine
or clipper that is not or cannot be so
arranged as to readily adjust itself
to the mode of handling and opera
tion describe in the last article is
not as perfect nor as practical, eco
nomically considered as it will yet
be made.
ROLLING UP AND MARKETING WOOL.
Some places in grazing regions the
wool, especially of lower grade, is
tumbled at once from the shearers
into shipping bags, without being
rolled or tied up in feeces. Graders
at the factories have told me that
they preferred to receive all the
wool of each fleece, especially of the
higher grades, by itself for convent
ence in sorting. In manufacturing
common carpets and some wearing
ia RIGS the wool need not be so care
fully sorted, but for the higher
grade materials care is necessary,
hence the necessity for careful hand
ling of feeces by the wool grower. .
A tapping table about 5x8 and 8
feet high, made of boards dressed on
one side and nailed to battons
smoothly will answer for two lap
pers, or for one and leave room for
several united feeces laid up out of
the way of the shearers. Bring the
end of the twine from the ball under
the table up through hole at right
hand Of lapper.
The Iapper will toss the fleece
lightly on the table shorn side down
remove the belly wool and "tidbits''
off to one side. AS soon as the posi-
tion of the fleece is learned, turn the
neck end to the left and tail end to
the right hand and spread it out to
shape as much as possible,
then clip and cast away all dung
balls, straws Or other extraneous
matter that is not wool. With light
of the hands, gather the
fleece up rather closely together.
Lap the far side forward toward the
front and the front side over toward
the back side of the table SO as to
leave the fleece about two feet wide. |