LAMBS FROM BIRTH UNTIL WEANED 119 



places its buttock on a block of suitable height, and a 

 second person removes the tail by severing it with a chisel 

 and mallet. The length of the stump left varies some- 

 what with the breed. Fashion has an influence in deter- 

 mining this. The tails of the Merino types are cut quite 

 short. The tails of English Dorsets are sometimes left 

 as long as 3 inches. The average length of the stump 

 left is about i^4 to i l /2 inches, measured on the underside. 



Registration of pure-bred lambs Where any consid- 

 erable number of lambs are expected each lamb should 

 be marked at as early a date as possible to avoid the haz- 

 ard of loss of identity. This will prove helpful to the 

 shepherd in caring for a flock even of grade lambs, and in 

 the case of pure-bred lambs it is essential as a guide to 

 correct registration when the time comes for registering 

 the lambs. Some shepherds adopt the plan of tracing 

 identity by placing small nicks in the ears according to 

 a certain rule which has been found practicable to use in a 

 flock of any size. But there is probably no better method 

 of preserving identity than by marking the lambs with 

 shepherds' marking ink, as identity may then be traced 

 on sight. The marking consists in painting on the back 

 of the lamb with a small brush the number corresponding 

 to the ear tag of the ewe. This should be done while the 

 lamb is not yet more than two or three days old. As the 

 ink fades with time it may be necessary to renew it once 

 before the lamb is weaned. The registration of pure-bred 

 lambs should be deferred long enough to demonstrate the 

 character of the individual development. Such develop- 

 ment may be of a character so inferior that it would be 

 unwise to retain the lambs for breeding, hence it would 

 also be unwise to register them. The nature of the develop- 

 ment will certainly be known by the time that the lambs are 

 weaned, and even before the time. The registering of the 

 lambs, therefore, should not be deferred beyond the sea- 

 son of weaning. 



If lambs are not registered the first season, the dan- 



