294 MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



finger between the disjointed vertebrae. It is not wise to kill 

 more than one lamb at a sticking unless you have help in dress- 

 ing, especially in winter, as the carcass will become stiff long 

 before it can be dressed, and a well dressed carcass can not be 

 obtained from a stiff subject. 



In "legging" a sheep or lamb, it is laid on its back and its 

 left foreleg placed between the knees of the operator, and the skin 

 on the forepart of the shank taken between the thumb of the left 

 hand and pulled away from the shank bone so that it may be easily 

 loosened with a single cut of the knife. The skin is then opened 

 from the knee to the jaw. In opening the skin, the knife should 

 be turned a little sideways. This will prevent its dipping into the 



"Hog-Dressed" Spring Lambs. 



flesh and marring the carcass. The hind legs are next attended to- 

 by being opened from the gambril joint to the tail. The less the 

 knife is used in skinning, the better, as danger of cutting the 

 skin is less, and, moreover, it is much more rapidly removed by 

 pounding with the fist or handle of the knife than with the blade 

 of the knife. 



All sheep and lambs should be "wizzled ;" that is, the gullet 

 or tube that conveys the food from the mouth to the stomach 

 should be loosened and tied so that the stomach may be removed 

 without its contents escaping and damaging the carcass. This 

 tube is found directly underneath the windpipe. The dead ani- 



