East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-12-04
WARM TRIBUTE IS
PAID TO MAN WHO
CARES FOR FLOCKS
PRESIDENT FAICoNER Is CHAM
PION OF THE MUCH MA
ILGNED SHEEPHERDER.
Members Attending Convention lis
ten to Annual Report - Job OF
Tending sheep Is Most Responsible
One, According to Pay Received,
As Any Man in the Country,

At last the much maligned and de-
famed sheepherder has found warm
champion. Yesterday in the course
of his annual address before the Ore
gon woolgrowers in this city Presi-
dent Fred W. Falconer paid a warm
tribute to the man who cares for the
flocks in the hills, He said in part;
+ The sheep .herder has probably
the most responsible job, according
TO the pay he receives, of any labor
! ing man in the United States. He has
! had more abuse and vituperation
heaped upon him than any other Ia
eorer, perhaps some of it justified,
but in a large degree undeserved. The
herder that has the ability and uses
it to help raise good per cent of fat
lambs and choice clip of wool is de-
serving of the highest praise, The
saving "as crazy as a sheepherder'
is a slander to the class of men who
make a success of herding sheep.
There is of course. a certain per cent
of irresponsible men, with whisky
drinking proclivities, who will hold
down a job long enough to get
booze" money, if they are allowed to
do so. But l believe that the conS
scientious herder deserves all the
wages we can afford to pay and his
part of the credit for making the
business a success"
President Falconer during his ad-
dress, also discussed intelligently the
matter of tagging. sheering, typing
and grading wool Along this line he
spoke as follows;
The woolgrower may make his
product a great deal more attractive
to the buyer if he will, before shear
ing, have his sheep thoroughly tag
ged-not in the old fashioned way of
cutting at random at the filthy part
of the wool, but the uniform tagging
of each and every sheep, so that none
of the tags remain with the wool
All of the sheep should be cut into
classes and sheared separately. There
are, at the present time, in nearly
every band of sheep, at least four
classes, consisting of coarse woods,
fine woods, long woods and short
woods, which are easily separated by
putting the sheep in long chute and
carefully examining the wool of each
sheep and marking them accordingly, !
so they may be cut in their respec-
tive classes. Two or three Wallowa
county growers did this last season
and were complimented by the buy
ers upon the general improved ap-
pearance Of their wool All black |
sheep should also be sheared to
themselves and great care exercised |
that none of the black wool is mixed |
with the white The most convent
ent way to avoid this, however is to |
make mutton of all the black sheep |
ir the band and sell them.
The cutting of the wool close to
the skin by the shearer at one stroke
Is another important thing that
should be done. But great many
shearers cut the top Of the wool off,
and by back stroke cut the remain
der thereby making two short pieces
Of the wool. This is a thing that
may be hard TO correct, but by insist.
ence and perseverance may be over
come The wool should then be
tied in the proper manner
which add greatly to its general ap-
learance.
"A great deal has been said in re-
gard to the woolgrower grading his
'wn wool, but he has probably reach
ID his limit, as far as adding materi-
ally to the value of the wool is con
2erned. when he has done as I have
described When it comes to grading
he individual fleece, it is work for
'xperts, and is a question whether {
he grower can afford to do it"