SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 175 



. After the testicles are removed, the operator grasps the 

 tail of the lamb and severs it about one inch from the root. 

 Here the writer may be again condemned for cutting off ap- 

 parently too much of the tail, it being considered a necessary 

 appendage virhich the God of nature has provided [the animal 

 to brush aw^' a.nnoying insects. But the evil consequences 

 of a moderate length of dock, or indeed any at all, he has 

 seen too often manifested, to induce him to swerve froifl his 

 practice ; humanity, indeed, sanctions it. The -sheep which 

 carries a " natural tail," or only half a one, is very certain 

 not to take that care of it, in regard to cleanliness, which it 

 ought ; on the contrary, it is often seen with large accumu- 

 lations of du^y|Uached to it, and presenting anything but 

 ^Jut the sheep i^not to be blamed for this, 

 4omestic aninmls, it can and does void 

 iplying postur^ and a huge tail vfiW not 

 ■ ' occasions, without an extraordinary 

 ■'.cretions of dung are formed, which 

 ^^^^3i^f^^J^SS°^'^y' ^^^ unless a timely discovery is made 

 ' he sheep dies a horrible death. Thus the 



fof the an^feial is often jeopardized, and therefore is it not 

 Humane to deprive it of so perilous an appendage ? Again, 

 if the old calculation of the farmer be true,: that it takes one 

 (Jfthel of corn to fat a swine's tail, it is a problem to deter- 

 mine, how much feed is requisite to keep in " store order' 

 the undivided tail of a sheep. 



At the conclusion of the castration and docking, use is 

 made of the ointment alluded to. It is composed of the 

 following ingredients : say one quart of tar, two lbs. of lard, 

 and after being warmed to a thin liquid, add a gill, of spirits 

 of turpentine, and apply it by means of a soft swab to the 

 mutilations, and for one or two inches around them. This is 

 very healing in its effects, prevents inflammation from colds, 

 and, what is of most consequence, is an effectual guard 

 against the attacks of the maggot-fly. None will approach 

 it, so a;bhorrent is the effluvia of tar or turpentine to all winged 

 insects. 



The lambs are put out of the . pound as fast as each has 

 passed the operation, and are disposed to be very quiet, 

 which is quite right, as it checks the discharge of blood. 

 Let them remain about for an hour or more, if the pasture 

 to which they are to be turned is distant, and then they may 

 be moved off, but very slowly. Be careful, before this is 



