1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
133 
The Care of Early Lambs. 
The subject of the engraving here given, was 
suggested by a thoughtful correspondent, and will 
no doubt recall to the minds of many shepherds the 
loss of early lambs, that might have been saved, 
turned out of doors, it would be benefited by some 
protection. In some places where sudden late 
cold storms are expected at this season, the shep¬ 
herds provide themselves with pieces of blanket or 
carpet, with which they cover the bodies of the 
lambs. These are fastened upon the lamb by draw¬ 
ing the edges together beneath the belly and in 
there, is more effective than elsewhere. In very 
bad cases, when life seems almost extinct, and the 
warm bath of no avail, continued rubbing along the 
spine with liniment of ammonia, or spirits of tur¬ 
pentine, or other stimulating application, will re¬ 
store the lamb. At this season it is well to keep 
the lambs near home, so as to avoid danger; the 
had they been carefully nursed through a severe 
chill, occasioned by a cold storm in spring. It is 
safe to estimate that at least one-tenth of the lambs 
that are dropped fail to reach maturity, either 
through accident, or want of care, or from exposure 
to sudden storms. Young lambs are naturally 
hardy, and dry cold scarcely affects them, while a 
cold rain or a snow storm quickly chills and par¬ 
alyses them. After the lambs have been sent to 
the fields with the ewes, extra watchfulness should 
be exercised, especially at a season, when sudden 
changes are likely to occur. The chilled lamb may 
sometimes be found seemingly dead, with nothing 
but a slight quivering of the eye-lids, to denote 
that life remains, or stiff and convulsed. In such 
cases an immediate warm bath, and rubbing dry 
with a soft flannel cloth, will nearly always revive 
the lamb ; a tea-spoonful of hot whisky or giu and 
water, will aid the recovery. If this is not at 
hand, a little hot ginger or peppermint tea, sweet¬ 
ened, may be used. Before the lamb is again 
front of the chest, by means of one or two stitches, 
and the covering remains until the danger is past. 
Our correspondent suggests using legs of worn 
out knitted stockings, the legs to be drawn over 
the lamb’s body. The most vulnerable part is 
the back along the spine. The nervous system 
which concentrates in the spine, is much more ex¬ 
tensive than that which centers in the brain. In 
the sheep there are ten pairs of nerves centering in 
the brain, and thirty pairs starting from the spi¬ 
nal cord. These spinal nerves convey both sensa¬ 
tion and motion to the limbs. Any injury to these 
causes paralysis or loss of the pow r er of motion to 
the limbs, and it is this which affects lambs more 
than any other trouble to which they are subject. 
Much of this certainly results from cold and damp, 
and the wool of the lamb, which is a protection 
against dry cold, helps to make matters worse, 
when it is wet with rain and snow. Thus it is that 
a warm bath applied to the back of a lamb, so soon 
helps to a recovery, and any protection applied 
cost of a little extra food for the ewes, would be 
less in amount, than the loss of two or three lambs. 
Tim Bunker on Printer’s Ink. 
“ Have you got a game raster ?” said Jake 
Frink to me one morning last week, as he came 
over to our house. 
“No I haven’t. What’s up now ?” I inquired. 
“Why you see, Squire Bunker, that boy of mine, 
up in the White Oaks, has got it into his head that 
if he can raise some game chickens, he can make 
his fortune in a short time—says he won ten dollars 
on abet last week on a fightin’ cock—at a little set- 
to some of his neighbors had in his harn-yard, and 
if he had some smart rasters that would stand 
steel every time, he could make more money in a 
cock-pit in one month than he could peddlin’ char¬ 
coal in a hull year—and I guess he’s rite. Says he’s 
got two pullets that is all rite, and if he can git a 
