The Station.

Otago Witness, Issue 1488, 22 May 1880, Page 7

The Station.

SHEARING TWICE A YEAR.

Shearing twice a year instead of onoe is the novel feature which Mr Armstrong, of Hexham Park, intends to introduce into station management (says the correspondent of the Leader at Hexham), should the tests to which he is submitting the new system prove such a course to be advisable. Lincobas and cross- bred long woela are kept upon Hexham Park, and it is for sheep of this class that the double shearing is expected to prove suitable. The wool of the Lincoln and the sheep bred from the crossing of Lincoln and merino is about six inches in length, and when in good condition should have a clear distinct staple ; but a year's rain, wind, and heat upon the outside portion of the fleece cause the fibres to "felt " or run together. The effect of this Is that in the process of combing the entangled fibres get broken and a large quantity of waste is produced. Wool, therefore, which has a staple in good order will bring considerably more money in the market than an equally fine fibre which haß become "felted" or loßt its distinctness of staple. Housing and the use of canvas covers are had recourse to in England to preserve the quality of the wool, aud similar means are used in this Colony to keep the weather from injuring the wool of sheep intended for show purposes. It was when a wool buyer, who understood something of the details of manufacturing, pointed out to Mr Armstrong the defects in the long wool btaple to which I have referred, that the idea of shearing twice to avoid these defects suggested itself. A staple two or three inches in length was considered by the wool buyer and other practical gentlemen who were consulted as sufficiently long for manufacturing pur. poses ; and Mr Armstrong, being quite satisfied that by a double shearing a clear staple could be secured, resolved to give the matter a fair trial. A beginning was accordingly made this season by passing under the shears in the autumn over 4000 sheep, which had been shorn as usual in the spring. A thousand fat wethers were first shorn, and the result was that an average of 4£lb of wool was obtained in the grease. As exactly four months and a half had elapsed between the two shearings, the growth of wool waß equal to lib per Bheep per month. Drafts of these sheep, accompanied with some lots of unshorn wethers from the same flock, were sent to the Melbourne market, and 10a per head was obtained for the former and 12s for the latter. The wool has been estimated both by Mr Armstrong and some of his experienced neighbours to be worth over Is per lb, or about 5s per sheep ; so that there is a clear gain of 3s per sheep upon this part of the experiment. Of the other sheep shorn, 2500 were fat two-year-old wethers, and the rest wethers of about, the same age and in good condition* The average of the 2500 young sheep was a little over 41b each, and the wool had been growing exactly five months, the fleeces being very clean and the staple in such excellent condition as would be likely to command a high price. A slight hitch occurred in weighing the fleeces of this lot, which prevents the result from being given with as much exactness as in the other cases. From a lot of 800 wethers, however, the fleeceß were not only accurately weighed and kept apart, but placed in comparison with the results of the previous year's clip, the average at last Bhearing in this case being known. These sheep cut an average of 61b of wool at the second shearing, and the time of growth was five monthß. Particularly good English pastures had been grazed upon by this flock ; and while the wool was in first-class condition, it contained more yolk than in the other instances. As they had, however, also been fed on artificial pasture during a portion of the previous year, this circumstance will not have to be accorded much weight in comparing the two olipa. In Bpring these sheep, whioh are seven-eighths or nearly pure Lincolns, averaged 9f Ib of wool each ; and as since then they have produced 61b in five months, it is probable that a heavier result will be obtained from the two shearings than from the one of last year. SL i Will the growth between this and next be at the same rate? It is well known that the -wool giowa faster immediately after shearing than later in the season ; but has this anything to do with the cutting of the fibres ? Mr Armstrong is inolined to believe that shearing has a tendency to make wool grow, much in the same way as the growth of hair is encouraged by cutting, and he expects the wool upon the shorn sheep to grow much faster during the winter than if they had not been deprived of their fleeces. One would not expect to find wool growing from natural causes faster at the approach of summer, when a heavy fleece is not required by the animal, than towards winter, when protection from the cold is necessary ; so that there is Borne reason for attributing the rapid spring growth to the effect of shearing. But Mr Armstrong has had his belief strengthened by his experiment. He has carefully observed the growth of the wool since the seoond shearing, and found it to be more rapid than that which generally follows the Bhearing in spring. It is not more than three weeks since the sheep were &hor», and the wool ia found to be already an inoh la length. It is probable, therefore, both from i the weight of wool already obtained and the 1 rate of growth which has been observed since the last shear hi c. Uiafc a eoaHukrable increase of quantity will be the result of the double clip.

In regard to quality, it haß been found that so far complete success has been attained. A nice, clear, strong staple has been obtained frem two inohes and a half to three inches long, or about half the length of the full growth, and quite free from matting, entanglement, or any other form of "felting." It remains to be seen what qualities the next clip will possess, but it is expected that it will be as free from defects as the first. Another effeot of keeping the wool from growing to its full length is expected to be the absence of rain stains. During the winter the rain falling upon the long matted fleeces finds its way through certain channels which become stained or " rußted " before shearing, but it is thought that this will not be the case with the shorter fleece. All these points, however, will be noted, and as the wool of the sheep whioh have been twice shorn will be kept apart, the exact effects of the experiment will be ascertained.

Not a single sheep has been lost through the effects of the second shearing. It is upon this point that most sheepowners would have the most fear. Considerable losses sometimes are sustained from severe weather following the spring shearing, and many stockowners would consider the risk greater in autumn, but Mr Armstrong has no fear whatever upon this score. The ground, he points out, is cold in spring, and sometimes the severest weather of the year is experienced, but in autumn the heat which* has been gathered during summer is in the ground, and the first rains of winter are comparatively warm. It is not known how far the system, if it should prove advantageous for long- wool sheep, would suit short wools. The staple of the Linoolns and oross breds, when shorn twice, would at each shearing be as long as good merino wool, and therefore probably of sufficient length for most purposes of manufacture, but whether merino wool half the usual length would be acceptable to the manufacturer is very questionable. The value of the three-inch Lincoln staple to the manufacturer is also, as already stated, a matter of opinion ; but, so far, everything seems favourable to the experiment proving successful.