CHAPTER XLV 

 PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM 



Importance of Mutton and Lamb in the Meat Dietary. 



Mutton and lamb form a very small part of the meat diet of 

 farmers in the United States. The chief reason why they eat so 

 little of these meats is that they believe all mutton and lamb has 

 the so-called disagreeable " woolly flavor." In the majority of cases, 

 this belief is based merely on the " say so " of some one else, but it 

 is so firmly fixed that few attempt to prove or disprove it for them- 

 selves. It, no doubt, originated in the early days of sheep hus- 

 bandry when the wool breeds were popular and mature sheep were 

 the chief source of the mutton supply. The introduction of mutton 

 breeds and the increased demand for mutton and lamb in the 

 larger cities has brought about a great improvement in the quality 

 of the mutton produced, and to-day this " woolly flavor " is almost 

 never noticeable in lambs and yearlings, and seldom in mature 

 sheep (Fig. 254). 



Another reason why the farmers have not utilized this source of 

 meat supply is because they think it difficult to properly slaughter 

 and dress a sheep. This, however, is even more fallacious than the 

 belief regarding flavor, for neither the process of slaughter nor of 

 cutting the carcass is any more difficult than killing a hog and 

 cutting and curing the meat, a task which is ordinarily considered 

 quite simple. 



Care Before Slaughter. The animal to be slaughtered should 

 be in healthy and as nearly normal condition as possible at the time 

 of slaughter. It should be handled carefully to prevent bruises on 

 the carcass ; all undue excitement should be avoided, and if possible, 

 it should be fasted from eighteen to twenty-four hours, but allowed 

 free access to water. Attention to these details facilitates thorough 

 bleeding, insures more rapid cooling of the carcass, lessens the 

 danger of cutting the internal organs, and tends to prevent the 

 disagreeable flavor of the meat caused by the fermentation of feed 

 material in the stomach. The fleece should be dry and reasonably 

 clean, as it is practically impossible to hang up a clean carcass if 

 the fleece is wet or dirty. Shearing is often advisable, since the pelt 

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