The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1921-04-13
SHEEP STEERING CONTEST PRO-
VIDESFUNFOR NEWENGLAND FARMERS

in its life--these were yearlings-that
il doesn't even protest AT least il
( doesn't until the shearer accidently
hicks il with his shears. and then II
| lust wiggles in silence in accordance
with the best barber-shop etiquette.
The shearers all have the same sort
| of shears. They are familiar to lovers
| of steel-engraving art. in the hands
Of Clotho Lachesis or Nemesis.-(the
line underneath the well known pic
ture never read from left to right. and
are even better known to all subur-
banites under the title of grass shears.
Sheep shears are brighter than grass
shearers. but work on the same prin-
ciple of squeezing the handles.
The Judges give the word and the
shears begin their not unpleasant me-
tallic. rhythmic shipping. The differ
ence in tcchnic is at once observable:
some shearers begin bv giving the
sheen a clean shave. once over. free
ing the face. turning the thick fleece
back in a roll collar. and eventually
working down to a foreleq. belly,
flank and hip and then rolling the
sheep over Others clear the front
elevation first and pull the sleeps
shirt off over its head as it were.
Color Transformation
From the verv first clip of the shears
however. an astonishing color trans
formation begins. What was a dirtv
gray animal becomes a creamy white
one. with the same curious subcuticu-
lar celebration showing through that
NAV often be remarked in a plucked
chicken
Bv the tire the fleece is half off it
is difficult for the bvstander to tell
which is sheep and which is fleece
And for long time it looks as If the
fleece had no more cohesion than the
clippings on anv barber-shoD floor
When the operation is finished. how
ever. and the astonished sheep is led
awav. the shearer picks up the fleece
all in one piece. ties it IN with a
string into bundle and weighs it.
An expert saws that q Shrop fleece
will do well to average eight pounds. 1t
was said that the first shrops shorn
today Welded an average of II. The
Globe reporter. however beheld scale
with fleece hanging from it and the
scale marked 1s pounds The expert
said the shcarer must have had his
th"r1b on Il
The professional who finished first
was A. r Fiske OF Huntington He
makes business Of sheep shearino
and through this mornings contest
was the first sheariro he has done this
Spring and he hasn't vet cot his hand
in he did the actual shearing in -
minutes and - seconds and then took
- minute and half more to tie up his
fleece
81 USUALLY do five in an hour" he
said afterwards
"A sheen in - minutrs?"
Car Shear Sheep IN Eight Minutes
dyes eight minutes Tn three
months from now 7 could shear anv
one Of those sheen there in six min
utes-T1l bet on IT.
81 never shcared sheen ill 7 was
20 wears old" he went on. "ThiS is the
erSt time 7 ever hunted into contest
7 don't know arvthino about It ev-
cent what an old man told r,e-- and
7 didn't do as he said ~ that But
then everybody has. to do his own
war"
NJ. Tiske's method was to start
NO"n we un0erS10P nf MS SnefO 'nr
come ont on the rioht hin Arthur
Richmond Of Shelhrrre Fills = much
Older NOV was second IN the time
"'"-'ert Ho wont m one fore1ro and
fov.- - tie hird 1c~s cleariro the
whole nfter dect before Drocerd;no
forward aoair His Srnnn ofter sit
.ino nrourd like h1If- GIIed Lot-wotor
hHo th-ouoh half the process oove \
tick irst ~ the wroro rorcrt and
oot s1irht snirk However II was
where No sheen couldn't see - so
il orohHh1 never Lnew i woS there
Frad p Town slew of Ash Sold the
last ~ 6rieh his cLeon in the 6rst
contest rave the closest elm of the
threc ITO arirno1e went away look
mo reallv Sheen;eh-thoroL some
how the look of d;sr,nv oruht 10 he
called shearieh-ard indeed more like
= "oat or deer thnr sheen
THE most srrorisiro tL;ro dove1op-
od Nv the s'aariro u-as this. VIXEN -
-tarted The sheen had black Moses and
hl0ri 1cos On which the thick gray
wool rnr down When the wool wa
~"rro"ed y was raan that .he black
d;dr't oo hart unde- II 1T all