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. 
