Mr 
43 
i LAMB MARKING j 
"The lamb should be held by the catcher grasping 
the legs, which are. placed parallel to each other, 
resting the back of the lamb against his chest The 
legs should not be pulled too far apart, as this very 
often injures the lambs. 
Take a pocket knife, with a sharp point and keen 
edge, lay the back of the knife across the four 
fingers of the right hand, with.about an inch of the 
blade extending past the first finger , grip the lamb's 
purse with the thumb on one side and the point of 
the blade on the other, force the blade: through the 
purse about an inch from the end and just below the 
thumb, give a sharp jerk upwards and the purse will 
be slit so that the rest of the operation can be per- 
formed in the usual way. When this is, finished, 
press the split ends together, when they will quickly 
join and heal up, whilst the cold is kept, out and dirt 
prevented from getting into the wound, which is 
often the case when the top of the purse is cut off. 
This leaves a nice cod to fill up with fat, and shows 
up well on a dressed lamb. The practise of slitting 
the purse an inch from the end is not a good one— 
because it leaves a wound which places the lamb at 
a disadvantage should rain or wind squalls follow 
immediately after marking. Lambs turn their backs 
to thé wind and rain, and the latter enters the: 
wound— whereas if the incision is made at the end 
of the purse the wound is protected. ^ 
The use of antiseptics during lamb marking has 
reduced the chances of mortality toalmostnil. There 
is nothing more suitable for this operation tlian a 
solution of Cooper's Milk Oil Fluid—mixed at a 
strength of $ pint Fluid to 64 gallons water. А bucket 
of this mixture should be on hand in the marking yard 
so that the knives nay be kept in it when not act- 
ually in the, operator's band. When ear-labelling 
sheep, Cooper's Milk Oil Fluid should be used for 
disinfecting the ear labels and the instruments used. 
