886 



SHEEP - RAISING. 



Dams in full flow of milk are by abrupt Weaning made liable to 

 engorgement of the udder, and lambs are thus subjected to a stinting 

 of their growth. After weaning, lambs should have the first choice 

 of pasture and the tenderest cuttings of fodder, and they may be 

 advantageously turned into a field of corn in the month of August, 

 as the corn is then too far grown to be injured, and the suckers only, 

 as well as the weeds, will be nibbled by the lambs. The ewes 

 should at this period be carefully watched, and if theif udders 

 become too full, they should be milked by the hands, and if the 

 udders are hard or heated, cathartics should be at once adminis- 

 tered, to be followed- by gradual doses of saltpeter, to increase the 

 action of the kidneys. 



Selection of Breeders. 

 The selection of ram and ewe lambs for breeders should be 



made with the 

 greatest of care. 

 The obj ec ts 

 aimed at in this 

 selection should 

 be strength of 

 constitution, 

 largeness of 

 . body, suscepti- 

 bility to fatten- 

 ing, fineness or 

 length of wool, 

 and prolific qual- 

 ities. Weakly 

 lambs,, or those 



„ which nurse 



Pig. 1183.— Dipping Lambs. , , ... 



poorly, should be 



early fattened for sale or slaughtering. Anything savoring of weak- 

 ness in a ram lamb should be by all means avoided, as upon them, 

 far more than upon ewe lambs, depends the character of the future 

 flock. Young rams may be permitted to serve a few ewes in the 

 second year, if vigorous and well grown. Ewes, if properly raised, 

 will do prime breeding in the second year. 



Dipping for Ticks; 

 Late in the spring, ticks appear on lambs, and are much more 

 injurious to their constitution than is generally supposed. The best 

 remedy for this pest is to dip both sheep and lambs in the spring of 



