146 SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



lambs, which is done by searing at a month old ; castrating, 

 which is usually performed in May ; and careful attention to 

 the feet in order to prevent foot lameness. 



DOCKING. 



Lambs should be tailed when about a month old, and it is 

 better to castrate at a later date. Docking or tailing in neces- 

 sary for several reasons. A sheep's tail is sadly in his way. It 

 is a feeble member, quite incapable of being used for brushing 

 away flies or for any other object. It is a useless appendage, 

 although it, no doubt, at one period of sheep history served as 

 useful a purpose as the tail of other animals to them. But the 

 development of wool has altered the sheep from his original 

 form, and now the tail is too liable to become filthy from dung 

 and mud, and it is better off. The operation is simple and 

 instantaneous, and lambs begin sucking immediately after the 

 severance has been effected. It may be done in a moment 

 with a knife, but less blood is lost, and healing is promoted, by 

 the use of a hot sharp iron which is pressed through the tail 

 at the required point as to length. This may be close to the 

 rump, or about three inches lower down, according to fashion. 

 The tails may be made into pies, and are esteemed by some as 

 a delicacy. They should be steeped in boiling water, and the 

 wool then readily comes off, leaving the tails bare and clean. 

 Lambs look all the better for tailing, and a collateral advan- 

 tage is that when fat they handle better at the dock or rump, 

 than if they carried a long tail. Docking should not be 

 attempted in frosty weather, as the frost seizes on the 

 wounded portion and prevents it from healing. 



CASTRATING. 



The knife may be employed for castrating. It is very 

 common practice to castrate and tail at the same time, but the 

 treatment is severe. I prefer to postpone castration until the 

 weather is mild and the ground warm, as it is dangerous for a 



