The progressive farmer., 1901-11-26
Miscellaneous.
SHEEP IN THE SOUTH.


through and made smooth and Fast Work.
Bench shearing Commended With the Ma.
chine.
.r---espondence OfThe Progressive Farmer.
according to promise some months
ago. have tried the sheep shearing
NJ. hIne manufactured by the Model
Fr.rtble Shaft Co, of Chicago, and
give my experience. Not hav-
.-. l.uued sheep much since Icame
90 North Carolina till now, I had
-..er used "A sheariug machine and,
q. course, went at is under that dis
s-rantage. The day was cold and
va could only shear what was in
tended for the butcher.
After rigging the machine up 80
the wall according to directions,
which required less than thirty
minutes, we we're ready for shearing.
It required me about thirty minutes
80 learn how to adjust myself and
sheep so the conditions afforded by
the machine and to adjust the tenn
per spring and clippers to work
rightly; at the end of which time
the work wen5 on smoothly.
Being something of an expert as
handling the old-fashioned shears, 1
quickly learned how to present the
clippers to the wool at all points, or
rather how to present all parts of
she sheep TO the clippers. With the
old fashioned shears it was tiresOme
work on the muscles of the hand and
arm TO keep them clipping, especially
on @ wrinkled sheep where the wool
was very thick and greasy, but with
E.is new tangled machine" the
power that kept the scissors going
euauated from a boy at the crank
and it was not hard work for him.
The clippers were clipping whether
r.ev we're in the wool or not, and it
was easily seen that great speed
could be attained by quietly turning
on rolling the sheep, stretching the
SKIN with the left hand and present
ing all the parts conveniently, while
she right hand adjusts the clippers
so the work and keeps them fat to
gshe skin so as TO make a smooth job,
and constantly at and into the wool
4 s. as to make rapid work.
Is made no difference whether the
wool was long or short, thin or thick,
dry OF greasy, the clippers seemed to
wade through it; through thin wool
on She sides, tough wool on the belly
and hips, and through ''swest balls"
on she legs 1t made smooth work
around the ears, the throat and the
cheeks, the legs above and below the
knees, and over the joints.
On the folds and large wrinkles it
is only necessary to draw them
down tight when it will make the
sugOthes5 kind of work. Where
there are hundreds of "little wire
wrinkles, the clippers will glide
over them, making a level surface
tl=5 ia 40 very desirable on that
kind of herino sheep 1 broke the
skin and dre " blood but once, slight
Il. and that was pure awkwardness.
As to speed, 1 should hardly give
IL evidence from the short expert
s-sa had, but will say that ION a
sr.sI'' have clipped light-wooled
small sheep in five minutes and am
r6dent that / could clip the same
sheep IN half that time, after having
hal practice with the machine.
would not shear on the floor, but
3r a table about nineteen inches
b. sl, ard [ hold the sheep and pre-
s=1s it to the clippers and the clip
g.r7 to i5 precisely as 1 described in
ol.1ter VII of this series. l hold
t-.- ib Is as convenient TO the opera
r- md easier on him than to shear
Do le floor l would not work on
m. Enees nor stopped over with my
-e . as low or lower than my heart
z.. lay at all, especially when 1 may
stand most of the time nearly
sasght and do the work as we'll, as
t-s., and with more ease to myself
an. rs much to the sheep. 1t was
all a4e time resting easy. So much
E-~ this noticed that Mr.. Turner,
On. of the by-standers, said why,
--.ler, your sheep loves that; see
F. gone to sleep; wake it up you Il
Rare to let it go in a minute.
lid not shear enough TO dull she
s.a.rs b as to need sharpening or
-- - -rLnaar good axnark sheareI