LAMBS FROM BIRTH UNTIL WEANED II7 



them there by the grip of the left hand. He then cuts 

 across the sack close to the end of the testicles, but only 

 cuts through one ply of skin. He then catches the testi- 

 cles, one at a time, in his right hand and with the left 

 pushes back all extraneous matter, following the cord 

 down close to the abdomen. The cord is then firmly 

 grasped in the left hand and drawn slowly by prying 

 gently toward the thigh until it is quite drawn away. 

 Then with a long knife the scrotum is cut clean off where 

 the first cut was made. Should the season of flies not be 

 past, a small amount of spirits of turpentine may be 

 poured into the sac. Tar smeared over the wounded parts 

 will also aid in keeping flies away. Mature rams are sel- 

 dom castrated. When thus dealt with clamps are com- 

 monly used. 



When lambs are castrated, the early morning should 

 be chosen for the operation, as the opportunity is then 

 afforded of giving them such attentions as may be neces- 

 sary during the day, and the same is true of the time 

 chosen for docking lambs referred to below. It is im- 

 portant that the knife used be sterilized, and also the 

 hands of the operator, before castration is begun. The 

 sheds should also be freshly bedded if the lambs are con- 

 fined to them at the time, to lessen the hazard of germ 

 contamination that may cause trouble. Usually antisep- 

 tics are not used when young lambs are castrated. A 

 three per cent solution of carbolic acid in water will an- 

 swer the purpose should it be desired to use an antiseptic. 



Docking lambs — Whatever benefits may have ac- 

 crued to sheep in a wild state, it is now the almost uni- 

 versally accepted view of those who keep sheep that under 

 domestic conditions the tail should be removed while the 

 animals are young. This view rests upon the belief, first, 

 that under domestication the tail can render no substan- 

 tial benefit to the sheep which possesses it, and second, 

 that its presence is frequently injurious because of the 

 filth that accumulates around and beneath it when sheep 



