184 : 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
and for catching sheep the shepherd’s crook is a very simple yet very 
convenient instrument. It is thus described by Mr. Stephens : 
“The hind leg is hooked in from behind the sheep, and it fills up the 
narrow part beyond while passing along it until it roaches the loop, 
when the animal is caught by the hock, and when secured, its foot easily 
slips through the loop. Some caution is required in using the crook, 
for, should the sheep give a sudden start forward to get away the mo- 
ment it feels the crook, the leg will be drawn forcibly through the nar- 
row part, and strike the bone with such violence against the bend of the 
loop as to cause the animal considerable pain, and even occasion lame- 
ness for some days. On first embracing the leg, the crook should be 
drawn quickly toward you, so as to bring the bend of the loop against 
the leg as high up as the hock, before the sheep has time even to break 
off, and being secure, its struggles will cease the moment your hand 
seizes the leg.” 
The Season of Lambing requires the shepherd’s especial care. From 
the first to the middle of May is the best season. In the general course 
of breeding, however, it is desirable that the lambs should not fall until 
the cold of winter is over, and the pasture begins to afford some food 
for the little ones. This is peculiarly important in bleak and exposed 
situations. Thousands of lambs die every year from the cold to which 
they are exposed as soon as they arc yeaned. On the other hand, 
there may be some inconvenience and danger if the period of lambing 
is too late. Hot weather is as fatal to the mother as cold is to the off- 
spring. It frequently induces a dangerous state of fever; and both 
the mother and the lamb may be then injured by the luxuriance of the 
grass. If the lamb falls late in the season, it will be longer ere the 
ewe can be got ready for the butcher, and the ground cleared tor other 
stock; and, in addition to this, the early lambs become larger and 
stronger, and better able to resist the cold of the succeeding winter. 
The yeaning time will, therefore, be regulated by the situation of the 
farm, the nature of the pasture, and the demand from the neighboring 
markets. 
The duration of pregnancy is about five months, or one hundred and 
fifty-two days, with comparatively little deviation. As the end of this 
period approaches — and it should not be a matter of memory merely, 
but of record — the flock should receive, the grazier’s watchful attention. 
The ewes should be separated from the rest of the flock, and in an in- 
closure, in which is a shed or covert from the storms, which are so com- 
mon, and so destructive to young lambs. 
Pare of the Lambs. — It is the duty, and would be the interest, of the 
farmer to attend to the comfort of his ewes and lambs at this period ; 
the lambing-field should always be a sheltered one, and there should be 
a temporary or a permanent retreat for the weakly and the cold. The 
first care of the shepherd therefore should be to examine the newly- 
dropped lamb. If they are chilled and scarcely able to stand, lie should 
give them a little of the milk, which he carries always with him, and 
then take them to some shelter, or place them in a basket well lined 
with straw. Nursing of this kind for an hour or two will usually give 
tho animal sufficient strength to rejoin its mother. 
