38 Forestry Quarterly 



Swallow-tail in the left ear, cropped right. The swallow-tail is 

 often called the "swallow fork.") 



Metal tags are sometimes used in the ears of cattle as marks 

 of identification. These tags are small, usually of brass, and 

 bear some distinctive mark as a number or a letter. They are 

 fastened on the inside of the ear much in the same manner as 

 patent fasteners for papers. The ear tag is in more common 

 use with registered stock at present, but as the ranges decrease 

 and the cattle are kept closer in the bounds of the owner's land, 

 their use may become more general on all stock. One of the 

 present objections to the ear tag is that one cannot readily tell 

 who owns an animal without getting close enough to look in the 

 animal's ear, and this would be very difficult under the ordinary 

 range conditions of today. The animal may also rub the tag out 

 of its ear, though this objection is of less importance than the 

 first since methods of fastening the tag may be improved. 



Wattle — The wattle is a cheek or a chin mark as a rule. This 

 mark is made by cutting loose a strip of the hide of the desired 

 length on the jaw or the chin. The strip is rectangular in 

 shape and is fastened at one end only, and when the cut begins 

 to heal, this strip of loose hide curls into a hanging cylinder with 

 the hair on the outside. When completely healed the old wattle 

 appears much as a natural growth. The wattle is merely an 

 additional mark for identification, and may be used with ear- 

 marks or in place of them. There may be one or more on an 

 animal and if several they may be arranged in various ways. 



Deivlap — The dewlap is a neck or shoulder mark in general. 

 It is made in the same manner as the wattle and looks the same, 

 that is, Hke a cylinder of hide with the hair on the outside. It 

 serves the same purpose as the wattle. The several kinds are 

 called the "upper-cut," "lower-cut" and "split dewlap." The 

 upper-cut dewlap is one in which the cut in the hide is made 

 with an up stroke of the knife, resulting in a hanging cylinder; 

 the lower-cut dewlap is made with a down stroke, resulting in a 

 more or less erect cylinder of hide; and the split dewlap is a 

 combination in which there is an upper-cut dewlap with a lower- 

 cut dewlap immediately below. The position of the dewlap, 

 of course, may vary as in the case of the wattle, and there may be 

 any number of dewlaps in a combination, usually not over three 

 in one place ; for exam.ple, "three dewlaps on shoulder," or "triple 



