> There were once KNIBB shepherds at Charwelton and perhaps they could have > told us. Perhaps we have some medical scientists on board? > Not a medical scientist I'm afraid but a "hobby shepherd". I remember I attended a course at the local agricultural college before embarking on lambing for the first time. Amongst all the nitty gritty details from tupping through to lambing, we were given the gestation period for sheep which I duly forgot. However, speaking to an old farmer, he told me that if the ram goes in on November 5th (firework night in the UK) then the lambs will be born on April 1st (April Fools day). His words were something like "Off with a bang and the ewes daft enough to get caught by the ram will lamb on April Fools Day." So that first year, that was how I worked it out. It's a bit cold in April to be sitting round outside waiting for lambs to be born, so, not being a proper farmer, I aimed for lambing in mid-May when the nights are a little milder. I added 6 weeks to November 5th for the date to introduce the ram, and 6 weeks to April 1st for the date when lambing would begin. To my surprise, every lamb was delivered on the date marked on the calendar! Subsequent years proved that it's pretty accurate to within a couple of days. The origin of the word "tup" is obscure. The ram is called a "tup". He is introduced to the ewes at "tupping time" after which, the ewes have been "tupped". The coloured crayon used to mark the ewes who've been tupped is held in place on the ram with a "tupping harness". The big question and the link to genealogy is:- before November 5th 1605, there was no firework night, so how did my "Ag. Lab." ancestors work it out? Don