I8i DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



and for catching sheep the shepherd's crook is a very simple yet very 

 convenient instrument. It is thus described by Mr. Stephens : 



"The hind-leg is hooked in from behind the sheep, and it fills \vp the 

 narrow part beyond while passing along it until it reaches the loop, 

 Avhen the animal is caught by the hock, and when secured, its foot easily 

 slips through the loop. Some caution is required in using the crook, 

 for, should the sheep give a sudden start forward to get away the mo- 

 ment it feels the crook, the leg will be drawn forcibly through the nar- 

 row part, and strike the bone with such violence against the bend of the 

 loop as to cause the animal considerable pain, and even occasion lame- 

 ness for some days. On first embracing the leg, tlie crook should be 

 drawn quickly toward you, so as to bring the bend of the loop against 

 the leg as high up as the hock, before the sheep has time even to break 

 ofi", and being secure, its struggles will cease the moment your hand 

 seizes the leg." 



The Season of Lambing requires the shepherd's especial care. From 

 the first to the middle of May is the best season. In the general course 

 of breeding, however, it is desirable that the lambs should not fall until 

 the cold of winter is over, and the pasture begins to aff"ord some food 

 for the little ones. This is peculiarly important in bleak and exposed 

 situations. Thousands of lambs die every year from the cold to which 

 they are exposed as soon as they arc yeaned. On the other hand, 

 there may be some inconvenience and danger if the period of lambing 

 is too late. Hot weather is as fatal to the mother as cold is to the oft- 

 spring. It frequently induces a dangerous state of fever; and both 

 the mother and the lamb may be then injured by the luxuriance of the 

 grass. If the lamb falls late in the season, it will be longer ere the 

 ewe can be got ready for the butcher, and the ground cleared for other 

 stock; and, in addition to this, the early lambs become larger and 

 stronger, and better able to resist the cold of the succeeding winter. 

 The yeaning time will, therefore, be regulated by the situation of the 

 farm, the nature of the pasture, and the demand from the neighboriug 

 markets. 



The duration of pregnancy is about five months, or one hundred and 

 fifty-two days, with comparatively little deviation. As the end of this 

 period approaches — and it should not be a matter of memory merely, 

 but of record — the fiock should receive the grazier's watchful attention. 

 The ewes should be separated from the rest of the fiock, and in an in- 

 closure, in wiiich is a shed or covert from the storms, which are so com- 

 mon, and so destructive to young lambs. 



Care of the Lambs. — It is the duty, and would be the interest, of the 

 farmer to attend to the comfort of his ewes and lambs at this period ; 

 the lambing-field should always be a sheltered one, and there should be 

 a temporary or a permanent retreat for the weakly and the cold. The 

 first care of the shepherd therefore should be to examine the newly- 

 dropped lamb. If they are chilled and scarcely able to stand, he should 

 give them a little of the milk, which he carries always with him, and 

 then take them to some shelter, or place them in a basket well lined 

 with straw. Nursing of this kind for an hour or two will usually give 

 the animal sufficient strength to rt^oin its mother. 



