SHEEP. 



again, will hang over their dead off- 

 spring, from which nothing can sep- 

 arate them, while a few, strangely 

 forgetting that they arc mothers, will 

 graze unconcernedly with the rest of 

 the flock.' 



" The shcjjherd will often have not 

 a little to do in order to reconcile 

 some of the mothers to their twin 

 offspring. The ewe will occasionally 

 refuse to acknowledge one of the 

 lambs. The shepherd will have to 

 reconcile the little one to its unnatu- 

 ral parent, or to find a better mother 

 for it. If the mothers obstinately 

 refuse to do their duty, they must be 

 folded by themselves until they are 

 better disposed ; and, on the other 

 hand, if the little one is weak and 

 perverse, he must be repeatedly for- 

 ced to swallow a portion of her milk 

 until he acknowledges the food which 

 nature designed for him." 



It is said that placifig salt on the 

 back of the lamb, and inducing the 

 ewe to lick it, is a certain method 

 of causing them to recognise their 

 young. 



Castration. — The following method 

 is by Mr. Spooner : 



" The earlier this operation is per- 

 formed, the less likely is it to be fol- 

 lowed by injurious effects. A fa- 

 vourable day should be selected, dry, 

 but neither hot nor cold ; and if the 

 flock is considerable, it will be better 

 to operate upon the lambs at differ- 

 ent periods, by which they can all be 

 operated on at pretty nearly the same 

 age, than to wait and perform the 

 whole at the same time : a fortnight 

 is a very good age. It will also save 

 trouble, and be quite as well, to doek 

 them at the same time. There are 

 different methods of performing the 

 operation, but the following, which 

 we have geuerally practised, is as 

 expeditious, convenient, little painful, 

 and satisfactory as any : 



"The operator sits astride on a 

 long stool, with one of the lamb's 

 hind legs under each thigh, the fore 

 legs and head being held by an as- 

 sistant. With the finger and thumb 

 of the left hand, he draws up the low- 

 er part of the scrotum or bag, and 

 708 



cuts off a portion of the skin i\ith a 

 sharp scalpel or knife. He then grasps 

 tlic upper part of the scrotum, which 

 forces the testicles forward, and willi 

 one incision separates the part which 

 divides the testicles, sufliciently to 

 cause them both to escape from the 

 bag. He then places the iron clams 

 on the cords above the testicles, and 

 with a hot iron divides the cords, and 

 the operation is completed. By re- 

 moving a portion of the skin, though 

 the wound is rather longer healing, 

 there is less likelihood of matter col- 

 lecting within the bag. A little lard 

 may be smeared on the parts after- 

 ward, to keep off the fleas, &c. Before 

 the operation is performed the bag 

 should be examined, in order to find 

 whether any rupture exists, in which 

 case some of the intestines will have 

 escaped into the scrotum. In such 

 case, the operation must be perform- 

 ed in a more careful and dillicult man- 

 ner. Four small slips of wood, about 

 four inches in length, must first be 

 provided. Two slicks of elder cut in 

 half will be most suitable ; and it 

 will be better if the pith is removed 

 and the vacancy filled with some 

 caustic. One end of each pair must 

 be fastened together with waxed 

 thread. The intestines should be 

 gently forced up into the abdomen, at 

 any rate as high as possible. An in- 

 cision should then be carefully made 

 over each testicle, and through the 

 skin alone : the testicle, with its cov- 

 erings, should then be pressed through 

 the opening in the skin, which, being 

 held back, the elder-sticks should be 

 placed on the cord above the testicle ; 

 and one end having been previously 

 united, the other should be brought 

 lojTether, and firmly tied by an assist- 

 ant with waxed thread. The other 

 testicie may then be operated on in a 

 similar manner. Care must be taken 

 that neither the skin nor any portion 

 of the intestine be included m the 

 wooden clams, and they must be 

 pressed together as closely as pos- 

 sible. 



" In the course of three or four 

 days the lamb should be examined ; 

 and if the testicle has fallen off, or 



