Q: My husband bought this tool at auction. It was in a box lot with several other tools. It was patented May 15, 1900. He has no idea what it is. Can you identify it and let us know how it was used?

A: Your tool is marked "Never Root," but in the original patent papers it was called a "Hog Tamer." The patent, No. 649,682, was granted to William I. Short of Lewiston, Mo., but  your tool was manufactured in Quincy, Ill. It was designed to "cut the nose of a hog across the tip ... making a small projection a little to each side of the nose to prevent rooting." Hogs whose noses were cut with the tool could no longer root deep enough to pull down a fence or destroy an entire field. Your tool would sell for $10 to $35.