s he lay
asleep with his head turned round and muzzle pointing backwards, some
little movement caused his head to become entangled in the loose wool,
and he was found hanged in his own fleece.

I was watching, with my bailiff, a splendid lot of lambs fat and ready
for the butcher; two of them were having a game--walking backwards
from each other, and suddenly rushing together like two knights in a
medieval tournament, their heads meeting with a concussion and a
resounding smack--when one instantly fell to the ground with a broken
neck. Had no one been present the meat would have been worthless, but
my man was equal to the occasion, and, borrowing my pocket knife,
produced the flow of blood necessary to render the meat fit for human
food. My villagers had a feast that week, and my own table was graced
by an excellent joint of real English lamb. Of course we never
attempted to consume any of the meat from animals which had been
killed when suffering from a doubtful complaint, though some people
are by no means particular in this matter.

A doctor told me that when attending a case at a farmhouse he was
invited to join the family at their midday meal, and was surprised to
see a nice fore-quarter of lamb on the table. His host gave him an
ample helping, and he had just made a beginning with it and the mint
sauce, green peas, and new potatoes, when the founder of the feast
announced by way of excusing the indulgence in such a luxury: "This
un, you know was a bit casualty, so we thought it better to make sure
of un." My informant told me that then and there his appetite
completely failed, and, to the dismay of his host he had to relinquish
his knife and fork.

It is always policy to kill a sheep to save its life, as the saying
is, and the way to make the most of it is to send any fat animal,
which is off its feed and looking somewhat thoughtful, to the butcher
at once. He knows quite well whether the sheep is fit for food, and if
he decides against it, all one expects is the value of the skin. But
people are very shy of buying meat about which they have any
misgiving, and my butcher once told me not to send him an "emergency
sheep" _in one of my own carts_, but to ask him to fetch it himself:
"It's like this," he explained, "when a customer comes in for a nice
joint of mutton, if he is a near neighbour, he will perhaps add, 'I
would rather not have a bit of the sheep that came in a day or two ago
in one of Mr. S.'s carts'