Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/417

Rh with a tar-bucket and brush, and covers the wound with tar to keep away the flies. The sheep do not struggle, no matter how badly they are hurt, and are literally 'dumb before the shearers.'"

"How many sheep can a good operator shear in a day?"

"The number varies according to skill and experience," said Mr. Watson. "The men are paid an agreed price per score—usually five shillings, or four sheep for a shilling. I have known men who could shear sixscore, or one hundred and twenty sheep, in a day, but under ordinary circumstances it takes a good shearer to do fourscore. In addition to their pay, the squatter must feed them; in rainy weather all work ceases, as the wool cannot be packed when wet."

"Where do the shearers come from?"

"That's a hard question to answer. They follow other occupations except at shearing-time, when they form themselves into gangs and travel about the country; they are usually well mounted, and generally a gang carries its own cook, and is very particular about its way of living. The squatters find it to their advantage to feed the shearers liberally, and I have known one who hired a fiddler to play all day in the shed, to keep the men in good-humor. Most of these fellows are