192 Agricultural Experiment Station,, Ithaca, N. Y. 



From the inspection given a large number of lambs in the New 

 York markets, it was evident that often insufficient provision is 

 made for removing all of the bloody liquid from the chest. In 

 the ordinary way of slaughtering lambs, more or less liquid will 

 accumulate at this point and unless it is removed serious injury to 

 the appearance of the lamb, when shown for sale, is likely to occur. 

 To effectually remove this, an opening should be made with a large 

 knife at the lower part of the chest and kept free until the chest is 

 completely drained. This should always be done while the carcass 

 is yet hanging up. 



SUMMARY. 



It is of the utmost importance that the lambs be fat. 



The market early in the season does not require so large lambs as 

 the late market. The best early market commences as soon as the 

 holiday poultry is out of the way, usually about the middle of January. 



Other things being equal, ewes that give the most milk, breed 

 earliest in the season. 



The Dorset Horn sheep have bred earlier and fatted better lambs 

 than the Shropshires. 



There is practically no difference between beets and ensilage as 

 a succulent food for ewes rearing early lambs. 



Dressed lambs should reach the New York market as early in the 

 week as possible ; as Saturday is retailers' day, the lambs ought to 

 be sold before Friday noon. 



As a coarse fodder for the ewes and also for the lambs there is 

 nothing better than good clover hay. In fact this is one of the 

 essentials to success in early lamb raising. 



As a rule ewes respond more liberally to forced feed for milk 

 production the second year than they do the first. 



The manner in which the lambs are dressed determines to quite 

 an extent their selling price. Neatly dressed lambs are always pre- 

 ferred to those of like quality poorly dressed. 



Ewes should not be forced for milk production until the lambs 

 are a few days old. 



Be sure that the animal heat is all out of the carcass before wrap- 

 ping up for shipment; particularly is this of the utmost importance 

 in warm weather. 



An opening should be made to remove the blood from the chest 



before shipment. 



GEORGE C. WATSON. 



