158 THE TREATMENT OF BORDER 



that large numbers of lambs are killed yearly by receiving too 

 much cow's milk, but our opinion is that many more- are killed 

 by getting too little ; and were they to get none at all the shep- 

 herd would have often but a poor account to render to his 

 master. In one flock of half-bred ewes, during the severe lamb- 

 ing season of 1879, a shepherd of our ow^n acquaintance found 

 it necessary to supply twenty pints of milk to the lambs in one 

 day ; and he assures us that none died from getting too much, 

 but that one or two may have died from receiving too little. The 

 milk supplied to lambs should be sweetened with sugar and well 

 warmed, care being taken not to scald it, and given to the lambs 

 from a tin flask by means of a quill. Some people feed lambs 

 from a bottle fitted w-ith an india-rubber teat. This may do 

 very w^ell for a few pet lambs, but when there is a large number 

 to feed, the attendant will find that he requires something by 

 which he can get his work sooner accomplished. For this pur- 

 pose a quill is very suitable, for by means of it the lamb can 

 suck at Avill, while at the same time the milk in reality is being 

 poured down its throat. 



It is said that many lambs are saved, when likely to perish, 

 by being laid before a fire. This is indeed the case ; but there 

 is a more preferable course to pursue — wdiich is to wrap the 

 lamb in a plaid, piece of blanket, or even a sack, and then place 

 it in a warm place, not in front of the fire. It is quite true that 

 lambs do become lively wdien revived before a fire, but take them 

 out and place them w^th their mothers, and then observe the 

 difference. It will be seen that the lamb which was revived by 

 means of a warm plaid will gradually get over its weakness, 

 while the other, which was brought to life before the fire, will in 

 all probability sink. The body seems to be rendered unfit to with- 

 stand the weather, when brought up at the fire, but with the 

 other system these results do not ensue. 



We have heard that on hill farms whisky is given to revive 

 lambs ; but not having seen it in practice, we cannot testify in 

 its favour. In this case, too, there w^ill, we should imagine, be 

 some outcry about the shepherds drinking what is supplied for 

 his lambs. 



Of those deformities which are most common the following may 

 be cited : — Lambs are very frequently born with "wry-necks," that 

 is, with the head either to one side, or almost on a level wdth the 

 feet. When this is the case, they are not only difficult to lamb, 

 but afterwards are not worth bringing up, as they are often quite 

 unable to suckle. These lambs are sometimes brought up as 

 pets, but it is not remunerative, as they neither thrive or sell 

 well, so that it is best not to give them a chance of living. A 

 very troublesome deformity, which happily is not common on all 

 farms, causes many deaths amongst ewes, as it is almost im- 



