RANGE STOCK MANAGEMENT 183 



which the outline of the brand or number is made by 

 a lot of needle points similar to the punch used by 

 railroad agents to mark tickets when sold. These mark- 

 ing punches are filled with a preparation of India ink 

 which outlines the brand in an indelible manner. These 

 of course can only be used with gentle animals and 

 are not intended for range use. Recently the Federal 

 Government has considered this method for marking 

 cavalry and artillery horses and the Government mules. 

 The mark is placed on the animal's lip and will be much 

 better as a means of identification than the hoof num- 

 ber which must be frequently renewed. 



Ear Marking. Each owner has some ear mark re- 

 corded as a part and portion of his brand. On the 

 round-ups and for a great part of the year the ear mark 

 is the only means of identification, unless an animal is 

 caught and held for examination. This is of course 

 due to the long hair in winter, and until the animals 

 have shed off in the spring and the hair is short the 

 brand is not easily read. The mark is readily put in 

 with a sharp knife and causes the animal but little 

 pain. Many range states have laws regulating the 

 amount of the ear which may be taken off, the thought 

 being to protect the honest man by refusing the use of 

 a mark that like a "grub," for instance, simply cuts off 

 the whole ear and leaves nothing of the mark that may 

 have once been there. 



Castrating. With the operation of marking goes the 

 one of castrating the animal. This is a rough and ready 

 piece of surgery, but seldom results in an injury to the 

 animal. The old Californians who raised the animal 

 as much for the hide as for the meat never trimmed 

 their bulls, believing that the hide was heavier and 



