240 ijoAiM) OK A(;ki( ii/ruKK. 



I had the plcasiirc of visiliu;;- iliis winter at a lioiiic wlicrc tlit-r*' was a 

 lit-nl (»f 7r» purc-ld-cd sliortlioiiis, and tho yoniif; l»ulls and licifcrs wen; 

 boujilil (Mil at ST.'i t(i $1(111 nioi'c l>.v tlic tinio tlicy wen- one year old or 

 sooner. That was more tlian 1 lia<l l»een i^ettinj; lor a steer after keeping 

 two or three years, and convinced mo that there was something; better in 

 I'eacli if 1 wonld only make an effort to eiijraire in it. 



Mr. C. A- llowland: 1 have not been doin;? nnich in the sheep l)usiness 

 for the past few years. I can say, however, that 1 have been sueeessful 

 when I had the handling of sheep, and can recommend it to yoimg farmers 

 and to old farmers if the circumstances that surround them are favorable 

 for raising sheep. The farm (jn which 1 now live is too close to the city 

 to make it profitable to raise sheep, on account of the dogs. Tlie question, 

 I believe, is— Is tliere more prulit in i»ure-bred sheep than in gradesV The 

 great trouble we Iiave with breeders of sheep is this: They thiidv that be- 

 cause a slieep is pure-bred lie must be saved and placed upon the market. 

 simply because he has a pedigree. A great many of the thorouglil)red 

 animals that are put on the market are defective. But because they are 

 thoroughbreds they are kept, the knife is not \ised. and the owners want a 

 good i)rice for them. That is all right if the animal's points are all right, 

 but unless you have a good thoroughbred, one that will measiu-e up all 

 around, you are not entitled to any better price for him than if he was 

 a grade. Tlie pedigree is sometliing tliat does not count unless the indi- 

 vidual is there. 1 think this idea that because an animal has a pedigree 

 he must be saved, without any reference to whether lie is defective or not, 

 has been a great failing among all breeders of thoroughbreds, whether 

 horses, sheep, cattle or hogs. Because the animal may have a pedigree 

 they put out anything tliat they can have registeri'd. If you have a good 

 thoroughbred, of course I prefer him to a grade in any kind of stock; 

 he is superior to the grade; he is not only a tine individual, but he is a 

 blooded animal, and as they say, "Blood Avill tell." You must have a 

 good individual and then your pedigree counts. AVitli me pedigi-ee never 

 counts unless the individual is good. 1 think the reason why so many 

 people who have bought pedigreed stock are disappointed is because they 

 bought defective animals. If yoii have a sheep that tills the bill, Avhether 

 he has a pedigree or not, he is a good sheep, and you are entitled to a good 

 price for him. How^ever, I prefer a pedigree and a thoroughbred, pro- 

 vided the individual is good. 



Mr. Roundtree: I seldom offer criticism without reason. The 

 writer of the paper says it takes more feed to handle thoroughbreds than 

 it does to handle grades. I differ with the gentl<>man on that point. It 

 takes no more feed to handle a thoroughbred .animal than it does to 

 handle a grade. All animals consume feed in proportion to their weight. 

 It takes so much feed to make so many pounds in either case, and when 

 It comes to grade stock or mixed breeding you cannot tell where you 



