WASHING, SHEARING AND MARKING. l'75 



imicli of the tissue that the labels drop out or 

 they are caught and torn out by some branch 

 or nail. They may remain in place for years 

 and they may become lost in a short time. 

 There is a right and a wrong way to put these 

 metal tags in. 



The right way is to use a punch, cutting out 

 an oval bit of the ear tissue, and to make the 

 hole some days before the label is inserted, 

 giving the ear time to heal in the meantime. 



Then the hole m^ust be so carefully gauged 

 that the label will not compress the ear, yet 

 will fit snugly and jjresent little of projection 

 to catch and cause it to be torn out. If this 

 course is taken most of the labels will remain 

 in place. 



THE TATTOO MAKK. 



The best method of permanently marking a 

 sheep is by the tattoo mark. This is especially 

 applicable to sheep with light-colored ears, 

 though it is used on some of the Down breeds. 



The tattoo properly put in is absolutely per- 

 manent. It does not annoy the sheep and once 

 put in is a sure record as long as the animal 

 lives. 



There are sets of tattooing instruments sold 

 by dealers in shepherds' supplies. These con- 

 sist of a frame with handles like pinchers in 

 which are set removable letters and numbers. 

 These letters and numbers have a great num.- 

 ber of sharp points, forming the characters, 

 and the handles when closed cause these points 

 to prick the required characters. 



