EARMARKING SHEEP.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1863, 18 September 1906, Page 3

EARMARKING SHEEP.

MB W. MADDISON’S SYSTEM DESCRIBED.

At Wellington last week the new system of earmarking sheep, tho device of Mr W. Maddison, of Gisborne, was explained to the delegates attending the conference of tho Farmers’ Union, and all present were much interested in it. Mr Maddison contends a system of earmarking to afford absolute security to Hock-owners must ho on tho following lines : —First, it must bo a code system ; secondly, it must have an area devoted to the registration mark only; thirdly, all marks must be made by punch ; fourthly, only throe varieties of punches may be used, and. fifthly tlieie

must be an oven number of marks to all flocks. After speaking at some length on each of the above heads Mr Maddison asked those present to forget for the time that they ever knew of “ back-bits ” and “fore-bits” and turn their minds to a numerical system pure and simple—a system which embraced all the points previously mentioned, inasmuch as it was a code system, easily learned, and once learned never forgotten. An earmark, I propose, remarked Mr Maddison, shall be left entirely to the use of the registration mark, and it should bo made a penal offence for any person to add, alter, or doface any mark within that area, llicic are roughly 19,000 owners of sheep in this

eolonv.'ancl in view of closer settlement m the near future provision should be made for not less than 30,000 owners. Now this system provides for a series ol registered numbers from one up to JJ-U. In D ordcr to so increase the numbers so as to cover all frobablo future necessities, wo introduce a distinct mark Wo har e four sides of the ears, each one of which we constitute a district—thus, Auckland,

Wellin"ton, Canterbury, and Otago. Ims rrfvcs us a total of 40,000 distinct marks Foss four, This district mark is applied whore most suitable It has no fixed place so long as it is in its proper district and ' within the registration area. Now with 1 rc-artl to the tips of the ear. These are ! reserved for sex marks in the first place, I and I wish you particularly to note that 1 the sex mark is also an age mark, that is to sav, the sex mark is the unit ot the y cai ( e of birth : consequently, the mark for tins vear 1906, would bo the figure or the . mark representing the figure G. Witn rol" „. u . ( l to the other tip, that may be used for 8 sale marks—a matter that is ot very great P ' importance. bhcep sold for -nlln generally go direct from. the breeders

hands—and also we may include ewes a this statement —but where this is not so, whenever the sheep change owners then the seller should place a sale mark of any description he may choose other, than a registration mark on the oil tip, h„ and it would he competent for the buyer ... if later on lie became the seller to add any? other mark so as to distinguish them at ho anv time from any of the same lot nc may M have on hand. Where a moo are so,d at hi auction, then to ray mind the sa eyard is X tho place where the sale mark should be X put on so as that each subdivision o the D « lot may bear a different mark, and at the “f. same time tho seller shall be. fully aware . fan number of cuch sub division mid tho [, mark placed thereon 3

Wo now oomo to l he key of tho syste

Tho registration mark is mmlo up on wlmt might ho called the " three ’ system lliroo marks, three angles those give the nine numerals, a further provision being made for the nought, The accurate position of the mark is of no importance, so

long as the angle is properly given, and the matter of giving tho angle is not a dilHeult one, Of course, we don't suppose that at first the same speed will he maintained, but where the security of the flock

is at stake, if it should necessitate the sor vices of another man in the yard, the results will fully justify it. it may bo I rush in the minds of some of you that a mob of f>os sheep were stolen ‘off the Sumner Hills early in the year, Now, what bo-

oiimo of these shoop V sold perhaps in tho Addington yards under tho oyo of their owner, and lio didn't know his own shotp. I won’t say it was so in this onse, but it might eo happon. Supposing that this system is introduced, and a list is published giving tho unmhuis of owners, a man takes a mob to tho saleyards. Tho yardman reads tho numbor —14t)5. On

ref<rriug to tho register ho finds tlio name of Johu Smith, Ho turns to iho sotiler and says, l ' You nro not Johu Smith. Hnvo jou his authority to soli V" “ No.” " Then wo will hold thoso shoop till wo hoar from John Smith himsolf.” Sup--pusiug ii wore possitilo for a shoop to stray from tho Bay of Islands to Otago, the findor, on reading tho number on tho ear, and reforring to tho register, could at onoe say without hrsila'ioa shat the sheep bolongs to J.io Brown, Bay of Islands. Too gentlemen piosent wire much interested in tho system, and carefully examined a number of dingrauia which

Mr Maddison produced to illustrate Uo was warmly thankod for his address,