152 THE TREATMENT OF BORDER 



a good plau to tie a whin or thorn bush upon the back of the 

 ewe, which will, after the first attempt, prevent her from rolling 

 over. 



On passing through his flock the lamber will now probably 

 notice that one of the shoulder-keiled ewes has drawn away from 

 the others, which are busily engaged with the turnips provided 

 for them. On approaching this ewe he will notice that she 

 carries her tail a little higher than usual, that the parts below 

 are unnaturally red, that she frequently bleats, and walks round 

 and round snuffing the ground, and pawing as if she were trying 

 to prepare a bed to lie down upon. She will now lie down, but 

 almost immediately rise up again, showing renewed indications 

 of pain and uneasiness. These are symptoms of lambing which 

 continue until the bag of water has been discharged from the 

 vagina. After this has happened, the pain evidently becomes more 

 acute, and the ewe lies down and endeavours to expel the lamb 

 by rapid spasms of contraction. The shepherd must not, on seeing 

 these severe symptoms, interfere prematurely as too many do. 

 He should watch the ewe closely, however, and so long as she 

 gets up when he comes near her, he may be sure that nothing is 

 amiss. 



These symptoms may continue for two or three hours before 

 he feels that it is absolutely necessary to render assistance. 

 Should he notice, however, that anything is wrong as to the 

 position of the lamb, making him fear that it may be sacrificed, 

 he should at once proceed to catch her, and make an examina- 

 tion as to the state of affairs. (The proper method of handling 

 a ewe when making an examination cannot be satisfactorily 

 explained in writing, but should be learned by practice.) He 

 will perhaps find that the presentation is perfectly natural, 

 that is, the head coming with a foot on each side of it, 

 but from want of room the ewe is unable to expel the lamb. 

 He must now proceed to disengage the lamb, drawing the legs 

 outwards and slightly downwards, first the one and then the 

 other. This is generally accomplished easily, but considerable 

 difficulty is frequently caused by the head. When this is 

 the case force should not be used, but all possible tender- 

 ness should be employed in facilitating its passage. Pressure 

 should be applied to the back of the lamb's head in a 

 downward direction, and this is best done by passing the fore- 

 finger of the right hand up the rectum until the back of the head 

 is felt. Holding the legs in the left hand, the attendant must 

 now gently pull them, while at the same time pressure is 

 applied by the finger to urge forward the head, in this way it is 

 usually easy to extract the lamb. 



In giving assistance to a ewe, it is always advisable to wait 

 until she presses before endeavouring to help her by means of 



