The following tools are necessary for killing and dressing cattle: an ax, an 8-inch sticking knife, a skinning knife, a steel for sharpening the knives, a 28-inch meat saw, gambrel, and a block and tackle for hoisting up the carcass. § 26. Stunning The first step in killing and dressing beef is to secure the animal so that it cannot possibly break loose. A strong halter, or new half-inch rope, tied around the neck and with one end tied to a ring in the floor, or to a tree, works very well. If the animal has a ring or a bar through the nose, as most cattle have in China, it should be further secured by tying with a strong rope attached to the ring or bar. The animal should be tied very short so that it cannot move its head to any extent. Stunning is done in two ways. One method is to strike a heavy blow with a stunning ax, weighing about three pounds, made especially for the purpose, with an extension head about an inch in diameter which readily crashes through the bone covering the brain, and into the brain itself. The blow should be struck in the center of the forehead. An ordinary ax with a long handle, can be used, although the kind described above is best, in that it is sure to stun the animal, and thus is most humane. The other method which is commonly used in southern China, is to strike just back of the poll, and dislocate the atlas joint. This is just as effective as a blew on the forehead, if the blow is struck with enough force. Water buffalos have a very hard skull and for this reason are sometimes shot. The end of the gun should be held close to the head and carefully aimed at a point in the center of the forehead, where lines would cross if drawn from the base of the right horn to the left eye, and from the base of the left horn to the right eye. § 27. Bleeding The animal should be bled immediately after stunning or shooting. To do this properly requires practice. With the stunned animal lying stretched out on the floor, stand at its throat with the back toward its body. Place one foot against the jaw, and with the other hold back the front legs of the animal. Reaching down between the feet, lay open the skin from the breast toward the chin for a distance of about ten inches, using the ordinary skinning knife. Insert the knife with the back against the breastbone and the tip directed toward the spinal column at the top of the shoulders, cutting just under the windpipe, and about five or six inches deep. The vein and the artery cross at this point, and if they are severed, the blood will flow out very rapidly. When the vein has been cut below the windpipe, run a knife in on top of the windpipe and sever the blood vessels on that side also. If stuck too deep, the pleura will be punctured and the blood will flow into the chest cavity, causing a bloody carcass, which is not desirable.