Shearing lambs is, in the Northern climate, at least, an unprofitable practice; since the lamb, at a year old, will give the same amount of wool, and it is thus stripped of its natural protection from cold when it is young and tender, for the mere pittance of the interest on a pound, or a pound and a half of wool for six months, not more than two or three cents, and this all consumed by the expense of shearing. Much the same may be said of the custom, which obtains in some places, of shearing from sheep twice a year. There may be a reason for it, where they receive so little care that a portion are expected to disappear every half year, and the wool to be torn from the backs of the remainder by bushes, thorns, etc., if left for a long period; but when sheep are inclosed, and treated as domestic animals, although there may be less barbarity in shearing them in the fall also, than in the case of the tender lambs, there is no ground for it on the score of utility; since any gain accruing from it cannot pay the additional expense which it occasions. COLD STORMS occurring soon after shearing sometimes destroy sheep, in the northern portions of the country, especially the delicate Saxons; forty or fifty of which have, at times, perished out of a single flock, from one night's exposure. Sheep, in such cases, should be housed; or, where this is impracticable, driven into dense forests. SUN-SCALD. When they are sheared close in very hot weather, have no shade in their pastures, and especially where they are driven immediately considerable distances, or rapidly, over burning and dusty roads, their backs are sometimes so scorched by the sun that their wool comes off. If let alone, the matter is not a serious one; but the application of refuse lard to the back will hasten the cure, and the starting of the wool. TICKS. These vermin, when very numerous, greatly annoy and enfeeble the sheep in winter, and should be kept entirely out of the flock. After shearing, the heat and cold, the rubbing and biting of the sheep, soon drive off the tick, and it takes refuge in the wool of the lamb. Let a fortnight elapse after shearing, to allow all to make this change of residence. Then boil refuse tobacco leaves until the decoction is strong enough to kill ticks beyond a peradventure, which may be ascertained by experiment. Five or six pounds of cheap plug tobacco, or an equivalent in stems, and the like, may be made to answer for a hundred lambs.