164 THE TREATMENT OF BORDER 



handed a lamb to the holder, the latter proceeds to turn the 

 lamb and then seizing a hind and a foreleg together in each 

 hand, he hoists the lamb upon his shoulder, and, by stretching 

 the legs away from each side of the body, places the scrotum 

 in a suitable position for being operated on. The operator 

 having provided himself with a clean sharp knife, after. ^ feeling 

 whether the testicles are present, with the fiager and thumb 

 of his left hand draws the lower part of the scrotum and cuts 

 off a" portion of the skin with his knife. He then grasps the 

 upper part of the scrotum forcing the testicles forward ; then, 

 blowing back the wool, he seizes them with his teeth and draws 

 them out. After the scrotum has been adjusted the assistant is 

 directed to lower the lamb. Turning it, he grasps the tail close 

 to the root, and the operator, catching it by the other end, cuts 

 off such a portion as is customary in the district or according to 

 the breed of the sheep. Ewe lambs have their tails cut in the 

 same manner as 'the wether lambs, and some farmers even cut 

 the tails of those lambs which they intend to keep for rams. 

 This we consider is a mistake, as, were they to leave the tail 

 until the Iamb has grown, the back bone would be materially 

 strengthened, and the testicles always come down better. It 

 is a good plan to lower a lamb after castration by the tail, 

 as. by this means the parts are adjusted. Sometimes the tail 

 bleeds considerably, and in this case a small piece of thin string 

 should be tied round it, and left on for twelve hours, after 

 which it must be removed to prevent mortification. The 

 mode of operation which has just been described may to many 

 appear rather barbarous, but practice has shown that it is both 

 a safe and speedy method, and is the one which most shepherds 

 prefer. Out of forty score of Cheviot lambs operated upon in 

 this manner at Ingram near Glanton only one died, and this pro- 

 bably was not the result of the operation, but of some other 

 cause. Every year previously, the lambs of this ewe flock had 

 been castrated by means of the hot iron, at the sacrifice of much 

 time and expense as a professional man had to be hired to 

 perform the operation. It was determined however to abandon 

 this plan and resort to the more expeditious method, and the 

 result was that the lambs were castrated in about half the time, 

 and with more satisfactory results. On going over the lambs at 

 this time the shepherd usually finds a few lambs which have no 

 testicles present in the scrotum, or in some cases only one. 

 These lambs must all receive a special mark, as they are very 

 troublesome, and must be fed off as soon as possible. They are 

 usuall}^ called " chasers." It sometimes happens that after a 

 time the testicles do come down, and the shepherd should there- 

 fore examine them once or twice, so that, should this occur he 

 may make an operation. 



