Pasturing cattle on
unoccupied lands, especially the salt-water meadows and town
properties, was a common practice throughout Long Island during
Colonial days and even as late as 1880. The cattle were driven to
the public pasture lands in the Spring, and were taken home in the
Fall. During the pasturing months the cattle were left in charge of
a keeper who watched over them and received a fee for his services.
He rounded up the strays and rescued those which were mired in the
marsh or were injured. During severe storms or extremely high water
he herded them into enclosures, and gathered in the strays. He also
kept the watering holes clean and accessible.
Each owner identified
his cattle by means of ear-marks which had the same legal
significance as the brands on the flanks of cattle on the Western
prairies. These ear-marks were registered in the offices of the town
clerks as evidence of private ownership.
The earliest
ear-marks in Brookhaven Town were recorded about the year 1700 by a
written description only. The first two entries are contained in
Book C at the bottom of page 4 in a single paragraph as follows:
Andrew
Miller Juniors Eare marke is a cropp of both eares the near ear
being splitt down part of the way and the forepart taken off like
unto a latchmark with a half penny under the off eare May the 2nd
1699. Selah Strong his eare marke is a slitt crost the undersyde of
the right eare. April the 18th, 1708.
From this vague method of
recording the ear-marks by descriptive words only, there was soon
evolved a simple form of accurate record by means of a combination
of technical terms and a diaÂgram. By this method, Andrew Miller’s
ear-mark would have been recorded as follows:
A crop-latch of both
ears and a half-penny on the under side of the right ear (as in top
left form).
Selah Strong’s
ear-mark would have been diagrammed as shown by top center form.
The forms of record
of the ear-marks which were officially recorded in the town clerk’s
office in Brookhaven Town consisted of four elements:
1. A basic diagram
indicating the two ears (see top right form). The terms left and
right were always from a rear view.
2. The particular
mark cut in the ear for each element of the identification.
3. The position in
which the mark was placed on the ear.
4. A concise
description of the completed diagram, written in technical language.
In the town clerk’s
office of Brookhaven Town, each earÂmark was recorded by means of a
written description, and also by a diagram. In some of the smaller
towns, only the diagram was recorded.
The fundamental
ear-marks which were placed on the basic diagram were nine in
number, as follows:
1. A Crop—The end of
the ear was cut off squarely.
2. A Latch—A
right-angle piece was cut out from the end of the ear.
3. A Crop-Latch —
NumÂbers one and two combined into a single unit.
4. A Slope—The end of
the ear trimmed with a slanting cut, in distinction, which is
square.
5. A Slit—A short
straight cut into the end or side of the ear
6. A Penny—A round
hole punched through the ear.
7. A Half-Penny—A
half circle punched on the edge of the ear.
8. A Wedge — An acute
angle cut out of the end of the ear.
9. A Fleur-de-lis—A
crude imitation of a lily or tree. It was seldom used, for it was
hard either to make or recognize.
These nine elements
of identification were recorded in the basic diagrams of the two
ears as shown in three lower forms.
Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 8 may be placed at the outer end of either ear, or both ears.
Numbers, 2, 4 and 7
may be placed on either the upper side or the lower side of either
ear or both ears:
Number 5 may be
placed on the end or the top edge or the lower edge of either ear,
or two slits may be made side by side.
This system made
possible thousands of combinations