Rearing the Lamb. 75 



buck lambs come to market in thin condition and 

 with their testicles in them, which gives a strong 

 taste to their meat, they will sell for $1.50 to 

 $2.00 less per hundred pounds than lambs of the 

 same age which have been castrated. Now flock- 

 masters, is this difference in price not sufficient 

 to set you to thinking and to make you decide to 

 use the knife on your buck lambs in the future? 

 At least the writer hopes that such will be the case. 



MI-TIIOI) OF CASTRATION. 



Castration is not dangerous, if a little care is 

 taken. Lambs can be castrated most easily and 

 without much pain if the operation is performed 

 when they are from one to two weeks old. Choose 

 a nice, bright day, not a rainy, cold, or damp day. 

 Select all lambs from the flock that are to be cas- 

 trated, and fence them off' in one end of the barn, 

 providing it is done before going out to pasture. 

 See that the barn is nicely bedded with clean 

 straw. Mix a little disinfectant, such as carbolic 

 acid or Zenoleum, in some clean, warm water, and 

 disinfect your hands and knife in it. Then begin 

 the work. First feel and make sure that both tes- 

 ticles have come down. Any lamb whose testicles 

 have not both come down should be left alone 

 until they have both come down. Cut off one- 

 third of the lower end of the bag, as is shown in 



