[Illustration: Fig. 14--Manner of Sticking a Sheep.]
Split the skin over the back of the front leg from the dewclaws a little above the knee. (See Fig. 15.) Open the skin over the windpipe from breast to chin, starting in slightly on the sides of the neck. Split the skin over the back of the hind leg through the middle line and skin the buttock. Raise the skin over the udder or cod and flanks. Skin around the hocks and down to the hoofs, cutting off the feet at the toe joints. Run the knife between the cord and bone on back of the chin and tie the legs together just above the pastern joint. Do not skin the legs above the hock until the carcass is hung up.
[Illustration: Fig. 15.--“Legging out” a sheep.]
Hang the sheep up by the hind legs, split the skin over the middle line; start at the brisket and “fist off” the skin. This is done by grasping the edge of the pelt firmly in one hand, pulling it up tight and working the other with the fist closed between the pelt and the body, over the fore-quarters downward and upward and backward over the hind-quarters and legs. It is unwise to work down on the skin over the hind legs, as it would rupture the membrane. The wool should always be held away from the flesh as a matter of cleanliness, and the skin on the legs should be pulled away from the carcass rather than toward it. When the pelt has been loosened over sides and back, it should be stripped down over the neck and cut off close to the ears. Remove the head without skinning by cutting through the atlas joint.
[Illustration: Fig. 16--Fisting off the Pelt.]
Remove the entrails by cutting around the rectum and allowing it to drop down inside, but do not split the pelvis. Open down the belly line from cod or udder to breast bone; take out the paunch and intestines, leaving the liver attached to the diaphragm. It is not best to split the breast. Reach up in the pelvis and pull out the bladder. Wipe all blood and dirt from the carcass with a coarse cloth wrung dry from hot water. Double up the front legs and slip the little cord found by cutting into the fleshy part of the forearms into the ankle joints.
[Illustration: Fig. 17.--Removing the intestines of sheep.]
A good sticking knife, hog hook, scrapers, a barrel or a trough for scalding, and a convenient place for working are the important necessities. Set the barrel at the proper slant with the open end against a table or platform of the proper height, with the bottom securely fastened; a strong tackle built for the purpose is desirable, but not necessary. Hogs should not be excited or heated, and in catching and throwing them bruising must be avoided. However, it is not necessary to stun hogs before sticking them. At slaughter houses they are usually hung up by one hind leg. If there is no hoisting appliances, lay the hog on its back and hold it there until stuck. Two men can handle a hog if they will but work with intelligence. By reaching under the animal, one at the fore leg and the other at the hind leg, they can turn a heavy hog on its back easily. One man, standing astride the body, with his feet close against the side and holding its front feet, can control it while the other does the sticking.