6 39 



FIRE BRAND INC,. 



This plan of marking sheep is not now commonly practised, 

 but with some studowners it is still employed. The brand consists 

 of sometimes ;i letter branded on the side of the face, but more 

 frequently it is one or more strokes on the side of the face or across 

 the nose. One well known brand is down the centre of the nose. 

 Fire brands should be carefully put on or they cause a great dis- 

 figurement. The usual plan is to put the sheep's neck into a fork, 

 made by sinking a forked branch of a tree to a convenient height 

 for the sheep to stand ; an auger hole is bored through both 

 branches of the fork and a peg run through to keep the sheep's 

 head firmly fixed during the operation. 



IXK MARKING. 



Where a small stud is kept it is a wise precaution to mark the 

 members of the flock with Indian ink. This is done in the following 

 way : A small die, with steel points forming the letter required, 

 can be bought in Melbourne and Sydney, and with this the inside 

 of the ear is punctured. As soon as the points are withdrawn Indian 

 ink, or a substance made for the purpose, is rubbed into the 

 punctures and a permanent mark is established. Besides the letter, 

 figures are marked in the same way. These figures may be the 

 individual number of the animal (this is done where a record of the 

 breeding of each animal is kept), or it may represent the year of 

 its birth. 



DENTITION. 



The age of sheep is determined by the incisor or front teeth. 

 At a month old a lamb has eight incisors or milk teeth, which are 

 temporary. At from ten to twelve months the centre pair of 

 incisors give place to two larger teeth, which are permanent. At 

 from fifteen to twenty months old the second pair of incisors are 

 replaced by permanent teeth. The third pair of milk teeth are 

 replaced by permanent teeth at about two years and three months, 

 and the fourth pair of permanent teeth begin to show at about 3^ years. 

 Though the age of sheep is generally taken from the teeth, it is by no 

 means an infallable guide, as the changes in the dentition are greatly 

 influenced by the nature of the country on which the sheep are 

 grazed. With a dry country and hard pasture the changes in the 

 dentition will be advanced, and where the pasture is of a succulent 

 nature they will be later. With sheep farmers, when the two 

 permanent teeth are well up the sheep is regarded as a yearling ; 

 with four permanent teeth fully grown he is regarded as a two- 

 year-old ; with six permanent teeth, a three-year-old ; and with 

 eight, a four-year-old. 



The following diagram shows the relative positions of the 

 various pairs of permanent teeth in the order of their growth : 



