SHEARING

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 69, Issue 5, 15 November 1944, Page 445

SHEARING

- By

J. H. HITCHCOCK,

Fields Instructor, Patumahoe

SHEARING is a phase of farming, activity in New Zealand the end of which is signalled by most people concerned with a big sigh of relief. As shearing time approaches the farmer is, of course, exceptionally busy, what with dagging and that last-minute rush to do those odd jobs around the shed and yards he meant to do after last crutching, but somehow didn’t manage. The farmer’s wife is, however, even more busy, as it is on the catering side that so much is required just prior to shearing. THIS article has been written for the benefit of the man who is not a shearer, but who would like to become one. He will find shearing full of pitfalls, and to be a successful shearer he must be prepared above all to listen and learn from experienced men. He must also have a back made of rubber, and a heart of cast iron. The need to-day is particularly urgent for shearers, and although it is only by practical experience one can ever become a shearer, this short article may give anyone interested some idea of what lies in front of him, and the main essentials necessary to master before one can claim to be a shearer. Shed Apprenticeship A large number of shearers serve their apprenticeship as shed hands, and it is necessary to know and be familiar with the atmosphere of a shearing shed before any attempt at shearing is made. By observation one learns the rudiments of the job, and then the first step, perhaps, is to be able to shear the last side for one of. the shearers when the bell has gone. So a shearer is born, and perhaps by the end of the first season he has become used to the feel of the handpiece and, given the time, could shear a sheep reasonably well. Perhaps two or three seasons may have to be spent as shed hands to be able to get enough practice to enable one to secure a learner’s pen. If possible an attempt at

crutching is an advantage for a man not familiar with either handpiece or sheep, as, although it is hard work, it enables one to get used to the feel of a handpiece and also used to handling and holding sheep. There is a fascination about shearing, and although many a shearer has said, “This is my last season,” yet the following season sees him shearing again and out to do a little better than he has done in previous seasons. It is one of the few jobs where so little time is purposely lost and where a man’s energy and attention are fully extended from the commencement to the end of the run. To the layman shearing looks easy, and it is not until he has tried it and finds himself, sheep, fleece, and handpiece all tied up together on the board and calling for a “rousy” to pull his machine out of gear that he realises it is not as easy as it looked. If one is prepared, however, to listen and to be shown, and to endeavour to apply what has been shown, it does not take long to grasp the fundamental principles of shearing, although it may take several seasons to master them. After commencing you will find yourself crawling off to bed done in and wondering whatever you saw in such a back-breaking, intricate job. At 4 o’clock next morning, however, you will be ready and determined that you are going to take that “belly” off a little faster this time, or that on your long blow you are going to fill your comb fuller and cut less air and so save yourself an extra blow or two. Attention to Gear Prior to commencing shearing a shearer will spend some time on overhauling his shearing gear. His handpiece will receive his first attention, and although handpieces are available in shearing sheds as part of the equipment, most men prefer to carry their , own. With the modern handpiece very little is required in the way of maintenance, excepting, perhaps, new cutter pins, or, in the case of automatic forks, new tips. Most attention will be given to the combs, as these require much time and labour spent on them before a shearer is satisfied that they will “cut.” To the inexperienced a new comb looks as if it should shear without any further attention. Such, however, is not the case, and a lot of careful work is needed before a comb is considered right. It is a common sight to see a shearer with a comb, table knife, and emery paper or a comb stone working on a comb during “smoke-o” or in the evenings to bring these . points of the comb up to a degree of perfection which will enable it to lead into the wool with the minimum of effort. It is recognised

that two hours is generally necessary to bring a new comb up to the right pitch of perfection. Some shearers, however, carry a small machine which enables them to trim the comb points in less , time than this. Combs are given a lot of attention, as they cause more trouble than most other parts of a shearer’s equipment. A shearer’s lamb combs are treasured articles, and a good lamb comb broken is the cause of much anguish. - A good lamb comb is one which has had much labour spent on the points, is probably at least half worn, and will KI PHI liSSLifeiiSl 451

in consequence lead into the dense points of the lamb fleece easily.' Cutters, although not requiring the work necessary for combs, are usually backed when new, and this tends for sweeter cutting. Grinding The grinding of combs and cutters is one of the most important phases of shearing, and this is generally done by an expert—the owner of the shed perhaps, or one of the shearers. Grinding should never be attempted unless the correct technique is thoroughly understood. Briefly, grinding of gear is to sharpen combs and cutters with the minimum of wear to both comb and cutter. For successful grinding the emery papers must not be worn, and for a 4-stand shed a change of emery paper is necessary after a maximum of two days’, grinding. A daily change is preferable, however; worn paper will polish but not; sharpen your gear. To grind successfully the operator must not be too heavy in the hand. Excessive grinding, particularly in the case of the new chum, may be obviated by ensuring that after finishing each sheep a squirt of oil is given to the handpiece and across the face of the comb and cutter. Also under no circumstances should you dip your handpiece into the water pot to clean

off your comb while shearing. Water has an appreciable dulling action on your comb and cutter, so use only the dry brush for cleaning off the back of your comb. It is also not good practice to leave your comb on the handpiece too long before changing. Here again it is a matter of condition, but generally the comb should be changed at the end of every run, even if it is still cutting well. Excessive use of a comb means excessive grinding to sharpen it again. Grinding is not a job for the new chum, but, as shearers do not as a general rule have to do their own grinding, he will not have to worry about this phase of the work. The speed of the overhead gear is of importance both to good shearing and to the amount of grinding necessary, and 600 revolutions per minute is generally sufficient for ordinary shearing purposes, but for a fast gang it can with advantage be increased to 630—640 revolutions per minute to enable the faster men to drive their machines with ease. It is sometimes said, “Shearers are born, not made,” and there is probably some truth in that, but a man keen to learn and prepared to listen and obey instructions can generally develop into a first-class shearer. I know a shearer who did not have the opportunity to/ take up shearing till

he had reached an age where normally a shearer was well into his stride and would have been shearing for perhaps 10 to 12 years. He was determined, however, to make good. He told me that he was sacked out of his first three sheds, but stuck it, and won a national shearing competition against a very strong team of competitors. His perseverence, an essential asset in shearing, carried him through. SHEARING A SHEEP. The accompanying illustrations show the different holds and technique used in shearing a sheep. The first operation is to catch the sheep in the catching pen, and Figs. 1, 2, and 3 show the correct method. An alternative method, particularly if the sheep has its head in a comer of the catching pen or is standing alongside the rails, is to stand immediately behind the animal and, placing one arm around the front of the neck . and using the other for purchase off the top rail of the pen, pull the sheep straight back and let it slide down your shins on to its tail. It can then be pulled out in the ordinary way. The Belly To take the belly off easily it is necessary to have the sheep lying correctly. Only then is it possible to enter the wool from the bare shin under the front leg as shown in Fig. 4. Two or three blows straight down to the flank will then enable the belly wool to be broken, and two or three strokes up will clean the brisket. It is then just a matter of shearing around the belly till the crutch is reached, as in Fig. 5. The belly wool should be torn away from the fleece by the shearer and left on the board to be picked up by either the “fleeco” or “broomee.” The position as shown in Fig. 4 is not correct for actual shearing; the sheep has presumably been swung around for ease of photography. The correct position should be sideways to the porthole, not back on. Fig. 7 shows a more correct position. The Crutch Two or three blows are generally sufficient to clean out the crutch (see Fig. 6), and as this wool is generally short it falls to the board and is swept away as part of 'the locks. The First Leg Up to this operation the sheep has remained practically in the one position. For the commencement of the first leg (see Fig. 7) the sheep is shifted slightly, but the greater movement is on the part of the shearer, who moves around with his back more squarely on to the porthole, with

the sheep lying against his legs. An important point to remember whilst doing the first leg is to keep the hand in the flank as in Fig. 7 and to exert some pressure on the flank to keep the leg stiff and straight. Several blows will be necessary to bring the machine down to .the position shown in Fig. 8, where the shearer pulls up the leg with one hand and shears right over the tail and a short distance up the back. Opening up Neck On completion of the previous operation and before the position of either shearer ! or sheep is altered the top knot (Fig. 9) is taken off with one blow. The shearer now alters his position from that of holding the sheep against his legs to that of holding the' sheep between his legs as in Fig. 10. The right leg is brought around and placed between the hind legs of the sheep with the knee tucked into the brisket. The other leg is along the sheep’s back. In this position, if properly balanced, it is possible to hold the sheep securely by means of the legs only. To open the neck the first blow is started from the brisket and carried right up the neck to come out either under the chin or behind one ear. Another blow or so will be necessary to enable enough wool to be cut to break the neck wool. The practice of looping it over the head is not in favour with wool-classers. Once the neck wool has been broken the wool is shorn from around the ears as in Fig. 11, and from there, with the wool commencing to fall away, the blows are carried from the point of the shoulder partially around the shoulder as in Fig. 12. The Long Blow The long blow follows on after the first, shoulder, and in good shearing practice the sheep is being turned slowly as the first shoulder is being done, so that by the time the long blow is ready to be commenced the sheep is lying as shown in Fig. 13. The long blow, as its name implies is a blow taken from the tail right through to the back of the ears. As these blows are being done the sheep is being slowly rolled closer to the shearer, so that the middle of the back is more easily accessible. One good blow over the centre of the backbone is sufficient to complete this operation. In the position as shown in Fig. .14 the stance of the shearer is that the left leg should be brought out from between the hind legs as shown and placed over the two hind legs, so that all four legs of the animal are between the shearer’s legs, which are astride.

The Last SideThe first blows on the last side depend on which method was used to open up the neck, as in Figs. 10 and 11. Some shearers clean around both ears on this' stroke, others clean around one ear only. If only one ear has been done, it is now necessary to complete around the ears and jaws and then down the neck to the last shoulder, as shown in Fig. 15. At this stage the shearer’s left leg is now withdrawn and placed at the back of the sheep, as in Fig. 16. A common hold differing from that shown in Fig. 16 is that instead of holding the sheep’s head in the lap with one arm, it is tucked between the legs and held by the- legs only. This leaves the other arm free to manipulate the leg if necessary, and it also places the sheep in a more bowed position, which facilitates shearing. Fig. 17 shows how necessary it is to pull up the slack skin, but if the head is held between the legs, this would not be necessary, as the body is bowed and all the slack is taken up. , By the time the last leg is reached the head can be withdrawn and the sheep could , lie as in Fig. 18. Very fast men do keep the head between the legs till the sheep is finished, but it is not good practice for learners or slow men, as invariably the sheep has only to kick once and the shearer loses control. The illustrations show that in shearing a sheep it is turned completely around. On commencement it is facing , up the board and on completion it is facing in the opposite direction. It must be clearly understood that the accompanying photographs show only the principal holds and blows, and it is recognised that individual shearers have variations of these holds and various short cuts are used which are not shown. The learner in due course will probably adopt several of the better-known ones in his own style. Fundamental Rules The fundamental rules as laid down by .first-class shearers are not many, but if they are not adhered to, one cannot hope to develop into the same category. Experience has shown that the shearer doing 250300 sheep every day is one whose every stroke and movement is faultless. After seeing one of these men shearing alongside a man who is badly trained or perhaps just learning and doing 100 or so a day it is most obvious that the faster man is not working nearly so hard for his sheep as is the slower man. This is simply because the slower man has not as yet mastered the following cardinal rules of shearing: (a) Learn to hold your sheep correctly; unless the correct positions are

. (mastered, much difficulty is experienced in shearing efficiently. (b) Fill your comb, not half fill it, , with wool; this is one of the most common faults to-day. (c) Hold your . handpiece correctly, namely by keeping the bottom tooth of the comb always on the skin, obviating the ridges so often seen on shorn sheep./ (d) Go forward slowly with a full Comb, but come back empty for the next stroke quickly. ... (e) Always keep on the skin, because the skin is the shortest way around. (f) Follow the natural curves of the sheep. ‘ (g) Do not attempt to attain speed until you have mastered • all these things and can shear a sheep with a minimum of effort.. Pace a Pitfail Many a shearer’s style has been ruined in attempting to attain speed and big tallies before he has mastered the strokes and fundamental rules. A shearer who tries for pace before mastering all these things develops into a rough, slip-shod shearer, and he finds that he can never become a first-class, man, as he cannot break the bad habits formed when learning. It is difficult to refrain from racing, because you may be shearing alongside a man perhaps just as fast or a shade faster than yourself, and it is human nature to beat him if you can. This urge, , however, must be stifled, because once you commence racing you sacrifice all else, and if the habit is i continued you will ruin . your chance to develop into a good shearer. One of the best shearers I have seen, who would shear better than 300 every day, said that when he was

learning his teacher, another great shearer, would not allow him to open up for several seasons, »until he had every stroke perfect. He then found that his pace ' automatically became greater as his strokes grew more precise, and it is a well-established fact that pace will come when all else is learned and mastered. No learner has ever been sacked because he shore a sheep properly. Pace or attempted pace will be the downfall of any learner. Shearing tallies are discussed, particularly among shearers, with as much fervour and animation as any other record — it sport or hard work —and rightly so, because to shear the number which have been shorn in New Zealand seems humanly impossible; yet these records are put up and beaten. The record of 406 held by W. Higgens (the last 23 of these sheep he is said to have shorn in 20 minutes) seemed unbeatable, yet another shearer, Sonny White, shore 433 in the same working hours. Other big tallies are often heard of, and in the Waikato last season a shearer shore 417 sheep in 9 hours. To a good many men these figures would be quite good for a crutching tally, let alone a shearing tally, and many a man would be very tired just pulling this number of sheep out of a catching pen in 9 hours, let alone shearing them as well. A shearer doing 250—300 a day is classed as a good shearer, so the figures" quoted above show just what work and perseverance have gone into the shearing technique to obtain these figures. Don’ts In conclusion a few don’ts may be of advantage to the new chum in

helping him to avoid the pitfalls which arise in shearing:— Don’t half fill your comb; “fill it.” Don’t under any circumstances attempt to obtain pace when learning. Don’t dip your handpiece into water during shearing; this dulls the cutting edge of combs and cutters. Don’t leave your comb on longer than one run; excessive grinding will be required to bring it up again. . Try to avoid excess drinking of water, tea, etc., while shearing; too much drinking impairs your work. Don’t hold your shearing arm stiff; a flexible wrist action will enable you to shear easily. Don’t hold your handpiece tightly; a light grasp does not tire your arm and ensures better control over the movement of your handpiece. Don’t make the mistake of screwing down your tension if gear is not cutting. This causes excessive wear. Change, and if still not cutting, stop and look for the fault. A short time spent in adjusting a small fault pays good dividends. Nothing puts a shearer off quicker than a handpiece not cutting sweetly. Don't overlook the fact that no matter how long you have been shearing it is always possible to learn something. Finally, don’t disregard advice tendered to you by an experienced shearer. Most shearers are only too willing to give a new chum help and advice, but disregard that advice once and you will find yourself left to battle on as best you can.

FACIAL ECZEMA

New Research Station The Department of Agriculture has acquired 64 acres of land near Manutuke, near Gisborne, for the purpose of establishing a facial eczema research station. The Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. B. Roberts, announced recently that it was hoped to commence the erection of buildings, yards, and fences at an early date. “The property will .be subdivided into small paddocks and will be well equipped with yards and sheds for handling the experimental sheep,” said Mr. Roberts. “A small laboratory will be provided, and staff accommodation and sheds for housing the grass dryer and agricultural implements will be erected.” .

PASSION FRUIT Bulletin No. 135, “Passion Fruit Culture,” is now available free from the Department of Agriculture, Wellington.