ELECTRICAL BRANDING. 335 



Under these conditions the apparatus proved satisfactory. Dead pups were 

 branded with a uniformly smooth brand IJ inches wide at a single stroke. 



THE TESTS OP LIVING PUPS. 



When the apparatus was thus made ready, 12 live pups were brought up in a 

 wagon from Kitovi rookery. 



The conditions in dealing with the living animal were found to be entirely differ- 

 ent from those in connection with the dead. It took some time to learn how to handle 

 the cautery over the loose and yielding skin of the living pup. As a result it was 

 found necessary to make two strokes instead of one. On the whole, therefore, the 

 branding of the first 8 live pups was much less satisfactory than the branding of 

 the dead ones. On the last 4, however, better results were obtained. Experience 

 gave confidence in handling the cautery, and the brands were satisfactory in all 

 respects as regards length, breadth, intensity, and uniformity. They were acceptable 

 to Colonel Murray. The only unsatisfactory element was that of time. It required 

 fully thirty minutes from the beginning to the end to brand the 12 pups. 



The time was greatly lengthened, however, by several delays due to accidents. 

 A belt was thrown from one of the hand pulleys, and one of the improvised stands 

 was completely overturned by the loosening of a screw in the soft redwood base. 

 The plug "cut out" had been soldered up, to do away with a small loss of power, and 

 it therefore became necessary to stop the entire plant each time a cautery wire fused. 

 This occurred four times in the branding of the first 8 pups but not at all in the 

 branding of the last 4. The unknown factor of how long a cautery wire would 

 last under constant use could only be tested by actual continuous trial. These and 

 all other questions we had no opportunity to properly test, as, the Commission having 

 left the island, we were not allowed by the Treasury agent in charge to experiment 

 further on living pups neither at this time nor at any time later. 



CONCLUSION. 



While this test was wholly inadequate to show the full possibilities of branding 

 by the cautery wire, its action in the case of the last 4 pups indicated that the 

 principle of the cautery was a success. With the apparatus improved and perfected 

 the work can undoubtedly be greatly accelerated. Barring accidents, it is my belief 

 that after a little practice 4 pups a minute could be branded with the cautery wire, 

 as running at the close of our test. With the perfection of the apparatus, aided by 

 experience and practice, this number could undoubtedly be increased. It was possible 

 with the irons to average five a minute, and in that case it was necessary to burn 

 through the entire fur, whereas with the cautery wire only a short length of fur at the 

 surface of the skin had to be burned. 



COMPABATIVB RESULTS. 



We were allowed for a short time at the first day's branding to ooserve the method 

 of branding with the irons. It was in the whole very satisfactory. In the matter of 

 speed and simplicity the process is all that could be desired. A round iron would be 

 better than the rectangular one used by Colonel Murray. We made one of these and 

 he used it for a time. 



