42 Forestry Quarterly 



official way. In the State of Montana the Stock Growers' As- 

 sociation has a record book for its members, and the State also 

 keeps a record of the brands in use in that State. Some outfits 

 have but one brand, while others may have a dozen each, 

 acquired through the purchase of other herds of stock. As an 

 example of this condition: When our outfit, PV, in 1911, sold its 

 entire herd to another cattle outfit in the same valley, we sold 

 them the brand also, for we were going out of the business. This 

 did away with the necessity of re-marking all the old cattle with 

 the new brand. However, the new owners do not use the PV 

 on the calves and so in a short time there will be no cattle with 

 that brand. The registration of brands accomplishes the double 

 purpose of establishing a certain mark as indicating ownership 

 by a certain man, and prevents the duplication of brands in 

 any one State. 



The red-hot branding iron has served a very useful purpose in 

 the past, in fact was indispensable to the livestock owner for it was 

 the only means of recording his ownership over cattle that he 

 often never saw. Today there are many men who could not take 

 their oath as to the exact number of cattle bearing their brand 

 and so it still serves a useful purpose, especially where the 

 owner rounds up his cattle but once a year. The brand has un- 

 favorable points which are quite important. Possible harm to 

 the young calf or colt may occasionly occur. The main loss 

 through branding is in the effect upon the hide through the 

 killing of a part of it by the hot iron. This dead hide is per- 

 manently noticeable since an old brand may often be detected in 

 the tanned shoe leather and as a result the value of the bide is 

 decreased. 



In the past there were wide stretches of range country, and 

 cattle could easily roam the hills for several years without ever 

 being counted by the owner. The open ranges are gradually being 

 fenced by the settler ; the rancher is cutting his herds in numbers ; 

 and he is gradually tending towards a select herd that he can keep 

 in his fenced pastures the year round. It seems then that it 

 is not improbable that, in certain parts of the more fertile range 

 country, the brand may fall out of use entirely, for the need 

 no longer exists in this more settled condition. 



