206 Western Live-stock Management 
been inserted. The punch can be used for marking sheep 
where a system of ear notching is used. 
Branding stamp and tron. 
On the farm it is sometimes desirable to mark sheep so 
that they may be easily identified. The commonest 
practice is the use of a branding paint or fluid which is 
applied with a branding stamp. 
Such a stamp can be very 
easily made out of a block of 
wood and a piece of leather. 
Fic. 24. — Branding Stamp. A block of wood about four 
inches in diameter and eight 
inches long is cut out so as to form a handle with a 
disk at one end. Any figure or letter can be cut out of 
leather and tacked on to the disk. Several thicknesses of 
leather are used so as to make a total thickness of not 
less than half an inch. Nothing but standard branding 
fluid should be used with such a system of marking, be- 
cause of the damage of permanent paint to the wool. 
Since the stamped brand lasts only until shearing, many 
farmers prefer the use of a hot iron branding on the nose 
of the animal, or on the horn in the case of such breeds 
as carry horns. Such brands, of course, are of a perma- 
nent nature. 
Trochar and canula. 
This instrument is used in giving relief to sheep that 
are suffering from bloat and is much better for this 
purpose than the pocket-knife. It consists of a 
sharp-pointed steel (the trochar) which fits inside of a 
metal tube or sheath (the canula). When used, the point 
of the combined instrument is pushed through the skin 
