30 BULLETIN 20, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
an average 2.25 per cent in live weight and 4 per cent in dressed weight 
more than did the buck lambs. 
The bucks become coarse as they grow older. Their increase in 
weight is confined more to the fore quarters, neck, and head, which 
are the lower-priced parts of the carcass. Their frames are coarser 
and they do not have as deep a covering of flesh. Wether lambs, on 
the other hand, develop more in the loin and back, the region of the 
high-priced cuts. For these reasons ram lambs are sharply dis- 
criminated against as soon-as sex character develops, and, generally, 
the older they are the sharper is this discrimination. 
Upon the Buffalo market the difference in price between ram and 
wether lambs has ranged from $0.65 to $1 per hundred pounds in 
the same month in favor of the wether lambs. Quite often ram lambs 
erade as culls and sell for as much as $2 per hundred pounds less. 
Ram lambs can not be profitably kept to wait for favorable market 
conditions, as they cease to make satisfactory gains after they have 
reached a certain age. Another reason for unsexing all ram lambs 
not desired for breeding purposes is that there is danger of getting 
the ewes in lamb to the poorest one in the flock. The ewe lambs are 
also often pregnant under these conditions when they arrive on- the 
market, which is another objectionable feature. 
Age of castration, methods, etc.—Castration should be done when the 
lambs are from 2 to 4 weeks old. If they are allowed to become older 
the operation is more severe. The quarters should be as clean as 
possible for the operation. One of the best methods is to cut off the 
lower third of the scrotum with a clean, sherp knife, and force the 
testicles down. They can be grasped by the thumb and two fingers 
and pulled out, one at a time, with the spermatic cords attached. 
If the lamb is rather old and the cords will not pull out, they can be 
eut or scraped off above the testicles. Many shepherds use their 
teeth for drawing out the testicles, but this is a me practice 
to many people. A pan of clean water containing a 2 to 3 per cent 
solution of some good disinfectant should be used by the operator in 
washing his hands and the knife, and the wound should be disinfected 
after the operation. Oimtments, such as carbolized oil (20 parts 
sweet oil, 1 part carbolic acid) and pine-tar salve (equal parts pine tar 
and pure hog lard), are also recommended for dressing the wounds, 
but it is impracticable to use disinfectants or ointments when the 
flock is large. 
Lambs are sometimes unsexed by cutting off the scrotum close 
to the belly with heated shears or with a special emasculator, but 
this method is not very satisfactory. It is seldom advisable to cas- 
trate an aged ram; the difference in value of the carcass is scarcely 
worth the trouble. 
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