Branding and Marking 107 



be in view when the cattle are corraled for cutting out and 

 separating. The whole object of branding is so to mark the 

 animals that their ownership may be known at all times, 

 and to accomplish this, it is necessary that the brand be 

 large and plain and on a spot where it may be easily seen 

 when the cattle are bunched together. In making the 

 brand legible, then, the essential points are a large iron 

 of simple design, made of good, wide stock, applied red hot 

 when the animal is held so as to be absolutely immovable. 



EAR-MARKING 



Ear-marking is practiced by many cattle-men in addi- 

 tion to branding. Various slits and notches are made in 

 the ears, according to the fancy of the owner, he, of course, 

 adopting one certain form as his particular mark. The 

 number of combinations is limited, so that only a com- 

 paratively small number of stockmen can have different 

 ear-marks. They are also in some cases easily changed. 

 Ear-marking is not then a substitute for branding, but a 

 supplement thereto. Calves can be and should be marked 

 as soon as they come, but they would be in no condition to 

 withstand branding at this age. They are thus marked at 

 an early age when there is the least danger of being lost or 

 stolen. The ear-mark is also very convenient as a supple- 

 ment to the usual brand on matured cattle and affords 

 a double means of identification. It is also more legible 

 than the brands, especially in the dead of winter when the 

 hair becomes long. In looking over a bunch of steers, the 

 owner knows that those without his mark on the ears 

 are not his, without going to the trouble further to identify 

 the animals by examination of the brands. 



