Shearing by Machinery
April 7, 1906
Summary
A rural New Yorker gives his expert advice on the importance of a sheep-shearing machine for the efficiency of a farm.
Transcription
Experience of One Farmer Proves That in This Day It Is Most Economical.
I have used a sheep-shearing machine for the past five or six years, writes a correspondent of the Rural New Yorker. They have been very much improved in that time. The first knife, or clippers, that I had, very soon got clogged and did not do good work on sheep that had fine of oily wool, or had any wrinkles. The one I not have, used on the same machine, will clip any kind of sheep or wool. Now as to the direct question: Has the machine any advantage over band work? So long as we had the old fashioned shearers, who could turn off 30 to 40 sheep a day, well sheared, I had no need of a machine. As the old men died off, or were unable to shear any longer, and because of the scarcity of sheep few young men took up shearing, it became a problem to know how to get the sheep well and economically sheared. The men who were unused to it not only cuty the sheep and tangled up the wool, but they would share only a few sheep per day, which made it expensive. For this reason I put in a machine. Any man who is at all handy soon learned how to hold a sheep, which is the important thing. A careless man can cut a sheep badly with the edge of the clippers, but soon sees the danger and avoids it. With the shears the sheep, in the hands of such a man, is covered with little cuts. I find that after a little practice a man will shear a sheep every 15 or 20 minutes; and their bodies will be a smooth as a well-clipped horse. Of course it takes another man to turn the crank, so it is not so much of a time saver in the hands of a novice; but a skilled man, or an old shearer who knows how to handle a sheep. Will average better than a sheep every ten minutes. The man who turns can be a cheap hand, who could in no case use the shears. I propose next year to rig a shaft and use my one and one-half horsepower gasoline spray engine to drive the machine. It is not necessary, as some have supposed, to use a shears to finish or trim the legs. The same power, with a different knife, can be used to clip horses, or the shearing clippers can be used on a horse clipping machine. Like all machinery, they must be looked after and kept in order.
I have used a sheep-shearing machine for the past five or six years, writes a correspondent of the Rural New Yorker. They have been very much improved in that time. The first knife, or clippers, that I had, very soon got clogged and did not do good work on sheep that had fine of oily wool, or had any wrinkles. The one I not have, used on the same machine, will clip any kind of sheep or wool. Now as to the direct question: Has the machine any advantage over band work? So long as we had the old fashioned shearers, who could turn off 30 to 40 sheep a day, well sheared, I had no need of a machine. As the old men died off, or were unable to shear any longer, and because of the scarcity of sheep few young men took up shearing, it became a problem to know how to get the sheep well and economically sheared. The men who were unused to it not only cuty the sheep and tangled up the wool, but they would share only a few sheep per day, which made it expensive. For this reason I put in a machine. Any man who is at all handy soon learned how to hold a sheep, which is the important thing. A careless man can cut a sheep badly with the edge of the clippers, but soon sees the danger and avoids it. With the shears the sheep, in the hands of such a man, is covered with little cuts. I find that after a little practice a man will shear a sheep every 15 or 20 minutes; and their bodies will be a smooth as a well-clipped horse. Of course it takes another man to turn the crank, so it is not so much of a time saver in the hands of a novice; but a skilled man, or an old shearer who knows how to handle a sheep. Will average better than a sheep every ten minutes. The man who turns can be a cheap hand, who could in no case use the shears. I propose next year to rig a shaft and use my one and one-half horsepower gasoline spray engine to drive the machine. It is not necessary, as some have supposed, to use a shears to finish or trim the legs. The same power, with a different knife, can be used to clip horses, or the shearing clippers can be used on a horse clipping machine. Like all machinery, they must be looked after and kept in order.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Emma Roberts
Citation
“Shearing by Machinery,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed September 14, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/421.