Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-05-11
Farm School Letter
Interesting Information on Minnesota Agriculture
by Our Special Correspondent.

e~~~~~~~~~~~~v ~~>>>U~~~~~O
shearIng Sheep.
The object Of shearing sheep is to
remove the wool when it is not needed
for protection and to enable growth
to take place when protection is need
ed, as we'll as the harvesting of tho
wool crop when the proper time
comes.
Sheep, in the past, have been shorn
in the spring and in the fall, but the
best practice today, probably, is that
of shearing in the spring only. Shear
ing but once a year gives nearly as
much wool as shearing twice a year.
Wool is protection to the sheep the
same as an overcoat is to a person.
When the weather is cold, the coat 10
very desirable and feels comfortable
to the sheep. If the coat is removed
more feed is required to keep the
sheep warm, and If extremely cold,
sheep may not do we'll at all, and may
even take a severe cold il not housed
in warm barns. On the other hand,
II the shearing Is delayed until well
along In the summer or late spring
when the weather is warm, sheep may
become very uncomfortable and irri-
table. Under these conditions, feed as
one will it is impossible to get them
to gain or to thrive. The proper time
to shear, therefore, is when the wealth
er has moderated so that reasonably
warm weather may be depended upon,
except for an occasional cool day.
BY shearing early, say in March, a
much heavier fleece per year is got
ten than when the sheep is not shorn
until June. BY shearing late in the
summer, a heavier flow Of oil is Sc
cured in the fleece, but wool buyers
make allowance for oily f1eeces and
pay only for the secured f1bers that
they get. This is their business and
they usually buy safe.
OF the clippers and hand shears, for
ordinary purposes, the hand shear is
probably preferable because it Is
cheaper and, time included for the
average farmer with a small flock, it
will cost very much less to shear
sheep with this instrument than with
the clipper. Where the sheep are ex-
posed, large sheep men maintain that
the clippers, as they are now made,
cut the wool off toe close SO that the
sheep are easily sun scalded, or easily
take cold when exposed. This may,
in time, be adjusted by making the
combs a little thicker. Clippers arc
excellent for fat sheep that are about
to be sold to the market, because, with
them, a little more wool. Mo to " or u
of a pound more, can be gotten than II
the hand shear is used. This is not
saying, however, that the amount Of
wool grown on a sheep per year is
increased. If one shears the fleece a
little closer to the body this spring,
the wool will be Just that much short,
er the following spring. The clipper
does not increase the amount of wool.
1t enables one to get from Ho to \
Of pound one year sooner than by
use Of a hand shear. For ordinary
farm purposes, where the flock OF
sheep is from Is to 20 in number, the
hand shear is probably the more pre-
ferable.
Sheep should never be shorn when
the wool is wet unless it can be spread
out where it can dry before it is put
in bundle. A manure tag should
never be bundled up in a fleece:
Straw and hay should always be kept
out of the fleece, and the wool should
never be stored in hay NOW where
vegetable matter can become mixed
with the wool.
Wool Irvine made from hemp should
be used for tying up the wool, and 9th.
er kinds OF Irvine should never be
used. The fleece should be tied up in
a nice fluffy bundle, running the Irvine
in each direction couple of times so
as to hold it intact for handling p,1r-
poses. AS soon as the wool is shorn
and tied up, it should be placed in a
clean room, or better still, packed into
wool sacks. Wool sacks can be gotten
from any firm that handles wool.
They are about 8 feet long and about
3 feet In diameter when full In such
a package, wool can be handled nice.
ly and is ready for shipment whenever
sale is desired to be made.
D. A. GAUMNITZ.