MANAGEMENT OF A HILL FLOCK. 175 



of dry stones in circular form, with a port or two for the sheep to 

 enter. These, if well placed, may save many sheep in a sudden 

 storm. A stack of bog or meadow hay is usually placed near 

 in the autumn, so that the shepherd can help himself, and as he 

 sees need. No sheep racks are provided, the usual plan being 

 to lay the hay in small handfuls upon the snow, taking fresh ground 

 every day until the storm is over. About April 15 the lambs 

 may be expected to appear, and, in ordinary weather, the ewes 

 are not removed or disturbed at all. 



Lambing. The shepherd will now have his hands full, and gener- 

 ally a lambing assistant is provided for him, say for six weeks, 

 an experienced man at 30s. a week and board. They get out at 

 daybreak, and walk the whole hill, which may be from 800 to 1,000 

 acres, as the usual practice is to allow two acres to one ewe kept. 

 This is about as much as an ordinary grazing of bent grass and 

 heather will keep all the year round. The shepherd on his rounds 

 often meets with many difficulties during lambing sometimes a 

 ewe down, exhausted with heavy labour, or a lamb coming wrong ; 

 sometimes a lamb found alone, and the mother to find .after 

 finding, her legs must be tethered to prevent her straying again. 

 Sometimes a dead lamb is found, and the ewe keeping guard. 

 After examining her for milk, she is driven to a pen purposely 

 prepared on the hill ; a foster lamb is found, often a twin, the 

 skin of the dead lamb being drawn over the living, in which way 

 the ewe is deceived. Some ewes take lambs without this trouble, 

 but much depends on their milk and temper. All this is repeated 

 often during the six weeks of lambing, exhausting the shepherd 

 and his dogs. The dogs often fail before the man, and become 

 quite done up before the end. After finishing lambing the castra- 

 tion of the male lambs takes place. The whole flock is gathered 

 into a suitable suite of pens somewhere near the hill. The usual 

 practice is for an experienced shepherd to draw the testicles with 

 his teeth, chewing tobacco all the time as a disinfectant. Others 

 use a pair of pincers to draw out the testicles, dipping them in 

 carbolic as they go on. Another way, and a neater method, is to 

 open the purse and press out the stones, clamp them, and burn 

 them off with a hot iron, using a salve, and leaving the purse open. 

 This entails no loss of blood. It is the general practice in Wales ; 

 and the first-named in Scotland. 



Washing and Shearing. The shepherd will now have a quiet 

 time until about shearing time, which usually takes place in July. 

 A considerable amount of care is necessary just previous to shearing, 

 as ewes get on their backs and die, or sometimes get their hind 

 foot fast through their horn by scratching, and are found dead in 

 this position. Washing preceeds shearing about eight or ten 

 days. The usual practice is to take the sheep to a pool in a running 



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