894 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AXD STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



or he may ship to Kansas City or Chicago, should he see fit; 

 and if he has a No. 1 article, whichever course he pursues, a 

 good price awaits him. All along the lines of railroad, good 

 butter commands as good a price as in Ohio, being sent to Den- 

 ver or a score of other towns and cities, and from thence distrib- 

 uted all over the immense stretch of country lying between 

 Kansas, Nebraska, and the Pacific. The producer of a tiptop 

 article of beef or butter need never fear a glut in his market. 



Brands. Brand every animal that you own, either with 

 your initials or some simple device. 100 is a good mark, the 

 curves are round, and not apt to blur, which they will frequently 

 do if the curves are sharp, or the device too small. Before you 

 adopt or use a brand, visit the county-town and have your brand 

 registered, which will be necessary to make it hold good in law, 

 and you can see that you have not a brand similar to some one 

 already registered. Some men mark the ears with a knife, or 

 saw off one horn, or cut what is called a dewlap, some with an 

 upward and some with a downward stroke of the knife, in the 

 thin edge of the skin just forward of the brisket, so that a part 

 of the skin (say one inch wide and three or four long) will hang 

 pendant and free. But all these knife-marks look barbarous, 

 and disfigure the animal unnecessarily. 



Branding-chutes and Corrals. As no man not brought 

 up on a ranch can ever hope to acquire skill enough in rope 

 throwing to be of any practical use in lassoing or roping stock, 

 every ranchman ought to have what we call a branding-chute, 

 to be used not only when you brand, but on many other occa- 

 sions, as when you may have a sick or lame animal, or wish to 

 examine closely a fat one. 



The entrance to the chute ought to be directly at the side 

 of your corral gate, and so arranged that by partly opening the 

 gate an animal would enter the chute instead of the pasture, 

 with no risk of an escape. Let the entrance be about six feet 

 wide, but contract in the length of a fence-board to about two 

 feet and a half, or just so that a large animal can pass through 

 by close work. It had better be made large enough to hold 

 two or three large animals, close enough for calves, and strong 



