SHEEP RAISING. 27 



in the end. The galvanized tank can be purchased on the market at a 

 moderate cast. 



In the actual construction of a dipping tank the aim should be to 

 provide for efficient dipping and still not have the tank so large as to 

 require an excessive amount of dip. If properly constructed the saving 

 of dip will prove to be an item during the season. 



The ordinary galvanized iron tank is the one in most common use, 

 but it is not as lasting as a tank built of brick and then cemented, or the 

 solid concrete vat built in a mould or form. This latter tank will cost 

 somewhat more, but will last for a lifetime, and there will be no danger 

 of bulging or leaking if the masonry work has been properly done. A 

 tank ten feet long at the top, four feet long at the bottom, twenty inches 

 wide at the top and eight inches wide at the bottom, and four one one- 

 half feet deep will answer every purpose. The tank should be set four 

 to eight inches above the ground to keep out surface drainage and filth, 

 the admission of which would weaken the disinfectant, and make it 

 very disagreeable in dipping sheep. All necessary equipment for dip- 

 ping should be located convenient to the yards or lots where the majority 

 of the stock is kept. This will admit of more frequent dipping and at 

 much less trouble and expense. The animal should be dropped buttock 

 first directly into the disinfecting solution. A draining floor should be 

 provided. If sheep are dipped with the wool on they will carry consid- 

 erable dip from the tank and make the operation more expensive. By 

 building a fence around the drain leading back into the tank the sheep 

 can be held there for a short time and thus save much of the liquid 

 carried out in the wool. Where large flocks are being dipped it will be 

 advantageous to divide the draining pen into two equal parts, having a 

 swinging gate at the end of the partition next to the outlet end of the 

 tank. This gate can be swung to either side, thus closing one of the 

 pens and allowing one side to be filled with sheep to drain while the 

 other side is being filled. .By alternating in this way much greater 

 headway can be made. 



Castration and Docking. 



Both of these operations should be performed early in the life of the 

 lamb, as it will not only avoid pain but the wounds will heal quicker. 

 When the lambs get started after these operations there is nothing to 

 prevent their going on rapidly to maturity. It is necessary to dock 

 early in order to avoid the filthy condition in which undocked lambs 

 usually get. It is customary to do the docking first. It may be done 

 most any time, however, after the lambs get well started to growing. 



Several methods of docking are in use. The simplest one is to draw 

 the skin back close to the root of the tail, tie a string tightly around and 

 sever the tail from the under side with an ordinary knife just below the 

 portion encircled by the string, and where the skin has been drawn back. 

 Another method is to use an ordinary mallet and chisel, severing the 

 tail on a block. With this method also it is best to stop the blood flow 

 by the use of a string just above the part severed or by the use of a 

 searing iron. 



The safest plan is to use a pair of docking pincers or a docking iron, 

 which can be procured from a sheep supply house, or it can be made by 



