The Ear-marking of Sheep. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 18 August 1909, Page 10

The Ear-marking of Sheep. TO THE EDITOR.

Sib, — I notice that it was decided at the A. and P. Societies' Conference that th« GoA r ernment be asked to" invite schemes for the better ear-marking of sheep. It will be pretty hard to find a scheme that will afford any improvement, a 6 sheep change owners perhaps a dozen times in their lifetime, and each owner wants to put his own ear-mark on his stock. One only wants to attend a big public salcyard end he will see all the ear-marks under the sun, perhaps in one mob if, say,- 500 aged ewes. I would suggest that some improvement bo made in the branding of sheep. Every sheep owner has, or ought to have, a registered brand, which- consists of a combination of letters conjoined. When it is stuck on a sheep it is nothing but a large blotch, and as the sheep and wool gxow the brand expands to the size of a full moon. If the brand were smaller, and only single letters or figures were used, they would be more distinct, and if the next owner of the sheep were to put his brand apart from the last one, and not on the top of the first one, as is often the case, that would be a considerable improvement. In the case of stud sheep I would suggest tattooing with Indian ink \nside the ear, with the breeder's name and the year of lambing, only one figure being used: this season's lambs would under this plan be marked 9, next year's 0, then 1, , and so on. ' The sheep's breeder and age would - thus be known as long as the sheep lived. Such a mark might be obliterated, but. it would not be removed, and a good'heavyfine would prevent its obliteration. — I am, etc., Waiwewu South, August 10. J. W.