404 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



fed with good clover hay will produce surprising growth. If silage or 

 chopped roots are available they should be fed once a day, with bran 

 and meal sprinkled over it. Feeding three times a day all the grain 

 that will be cleaned up is recommended. Troughs for both mother 

 and offspring should be cleaned thoroughly at each feed. Silage taken 

 from the bottom of the silo is likely to prove harmful, Ijecause of the 

 acid in this part. 



With proper care in feeding, weights of from 45 to 60 pounds in 

 from eight to ten weeks should be the rule, and the lambs should be 

 very fat. They should be in such condition from the start that they 

 will be ready to sell at any time. They should now be slaughtered and 

 "hog dressed," to prepare them for the market. This is more or less 

 of a fancy operation, requiring care and skill, since a well-dressed carcass 

 will far outsell one that is poorly finished. In this connection no better 

 advice can be given than that by Dr. H. P. Miller of Ohio, who has had 

 considerable experience with the winter lamb. He says : — 



The preparation for market requires some skill, yet only such as almost any 

 one can develop after carefully studying directions. Methods of preparation 

 have been greatly simplified, and the lambs seem apparently to continue to 

 sell as well as before. 



It is important to have them thoroughly bled out. To secure this it has been 

 found of advantage to suspend the lamb from the hind feet in killing. Sus- 

 pend a short singletree about six feet from the ground. Loop a small rope or 

 strong twine about each hind leg and attach to the hooks of the singletree. 

 Witli a sharp-pointed knife sever the artery and vein in the neck, close to the 

 head. Be sure to sever the artery. Bright red blood is the assurance. The 

 venous blood is dark. Severing the head with a broad axe would perhaps 

 cause less suffering and insure thorough bleeding. The head is removed with 

 a knife as soon as the lamb stops bleeding. Clip the wool from the brisket 

 and a strip four or five inches wide upward to the udder or scrotum, also from 

 between the hind legs, as in tagging sheep. Slit the skin up the inside of the 

 hind quarters about four inches, and loosen the skin from the underlying 

 muscles for about two inches on either side of the openings in the skin for the 

 attachment of the caul fat. This should be removed from the .stomachs before 

 they are detached, and in very cold weather placed in warm water until ready 

 to use. Next remove the stomach and intestines. In the early part of the 

 season the liver, heart and lungs are not removed, but when the weather gets 

 warm they must be. Carefully spread the caul fat over all the exposed flesh. 

 Good toothpicks should be provided for attaching it and holding it in place. 

 Make small slits in it over the kidneys and pull them through. In this part 

 of the work is where skill is required to make the carcass attractive. Now 

 hang it in a cool place for twelve to twenty-four hours. In extremely cold 

 weather twelve hours is long enough, but it is better to make twenty-four the 

 rule. Then neatly sew a square yard of clean muslin aljout each lamb, so as to 

 cover up all exposed .surface. It was formerly customary to wrap each one in 

 burlap and attach it to a stretcher, but now three lambs are placed in a light 

 crate, with burlap tacked over the top. The crate is lined with heavy paper. 

 Prepare them as shortly before shipping as possible. In warm weather ice 

 may be put between the lamljs, not in them. Send them as they are ready, 

 three or six at a time. The market varies greatly, depending upon the weather 

 and the number arriving. It is not possible to get them all on a high market. 

 Aim to slaughter regularly each week, keeping your customers advised as to 

 when, and how many you will be likely to ship. 



