_House-marks, &c._ (Vol. vii., p. 594.).--It is very well known that the
sign of the "Swan with two Necks," in London, is a corruption of the
private mark of the owner of the swans, viz., two nicks made by cutting the
neck feathers close in two spaces. It is also a common custom in Devon to
mark all cattle, horses, &c., with the owner's mark when sent out on
Exmoor, Dartmoor, and other large uninclosed tracts for summering: thus,
Sir Thos. Dyke Acland's mark is an anchor on the near side of each of his
large herd of ponies, on Exmoor.