296 MODERN SHEEP I BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



quently do the very opposite to what they are expected to do, viz., 

 contract the loin instead of spreading it. The idea of using back- 

 sets in breaking. the back is to give the carcass a full, round, thick 

 appearance. The kidneys should be skewered up so as to give 

 them as full and rotund appearance as possible. Care must be 

 used not to break the kidney fat. The caul should be fixed in 

 position while warm and should be taken off the stomach, just as 

 soon as the lamb is first opened, and placed inside the lamb where 

 it can be kept warm until- required "for use. As soon as the back- 

 sets are inserted and everything ready, the caul should be spread 

 over the entire front of the lamb and around the hind legs. The 

 kidneys should protrude through the. caul in the manner shown in 

 a preceding illustration. It is very important that the caul be kept 

 warm until it is required for use, as a cold caul adds little beauty 

 to the carcass. Putting the caul into hot water is a poor method, 

 as such causes it to lose its gloss or lustre. 



Spring lambs are usually dressed with their pelts on, whether 

 dressed plain hog style or with backsets. The lungs and heart 

 should be removed, but in some instances the head and liver left 

 intact. 



Lambs, hog dressed, with their skins on, need little or no 

 packing for shipment, but those dressed with backsets should be 

 wrapped carefully in cheesecloth or something of that kind, and 

 shipped in a specially made shipping crate. 



My thanks are due to Dr. H. P. Miller, of Sunbury, Ohio, 

 the well-known early-lamb raiser, and sheep authority, for the pic- 

 tures used in illustrating this article. 



DRESSING PERCENTAGES. 



How English Sheep Dress. The block test of the sheep shown 

 at the Smithfield show shows some very high dressing percentages. 

 The highest percentage of carcass to live weight was 74.07, made 

 by a Suffolk lamb 300 days old, The next highest was 69.28 per 

 cent, made by a Southdown lamb of the same age, but of lighter 

 average weight. The average percentage was above 60 per cent. 

 The lowest was 55.66 per cent, made by a Devon lamb 270 days 

 old. 



At a recent International Show slaughter test the highest per- 

 centage of dressed carcass was 66.50 and the lowest 58 per cent, 

 the average being about 65 per cent. These percentages were of 

 warm weight, like those of the Smithfield tests. 



The following table gives the breed, age in days, live weight, 

 average daily gain and percentage of dressed carcass to live weight 

 of the sheep slaughtered at a recent Smithfield show: 



