SHORT-HORN BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION. 299 



Mr. Cruikshank asked why there was such a universal demand in this 

 country for red cattle. He himself had been forced to a certain extent 

 to answer the demand for red cattle. It seems to me in the little article 

 I, have read is embodied nearly all the practical sense I have ever read 

 on the subject of short-horn breeding. I think there is one application 

 the American short-horn breeder ought to make. After Mr. Cruikshank 

 had produced Champion of England and Roan Gauntlet he stuck entirely 

 to his own herds, and reached in that way pretty close to the danger line. 

 Some years ago, in a conversation with me, he said: "I have got to the 

 point where fresh blood must be introduced, and (pointing to Mr. Duthie 

 and myself) you younger men must take up this great work." 



I fought pretty vigorously from along in the seventies to eighty-six 

 and seven against what I thought the greatest danger the short-horn 

 breed was being subjected to— line breeding, which had been preached by 

 the Bates men. I was disgusted with it, and so fought it as well as I 

 could. The cattle were being rendered unfit to compete out in the West- 

 ern country with the sturdy Herefords and the short-legged Aberdeen 

 Angus. They were being practically wiped out so far as butcher's animals 

 and constitutional vigor were concerned. That was owing to the long 

 continued line breeding. In addition to that it was producing an artificial 

 estimate upon which to base the value of short-horns. Cattle were ranked 

 then, not at all upon their individual merits, but upon a certain paper 

 value which they had. They would not at all stand the test of common 

 sense. My theory is that whenever fashion ignores common sense it is 

 time for common sense to ignore fashion. We are at that point today, 

 and I propose to try to do what I can in defense of the real interests of 

 the breed. The trouble today is that we are valuing the cattle too much 

 by what they are called at the bottom of the pedigree. We take an ani- 

 mal bred by Hector McKillup at some insignificant little place in England 

 and i-ank her above any of the old families we have in this country. Is 

 it because she is a better animal? No. When we get the Scotch type, 

 which I think is desirable; when we get the constitution and the tend- 

 ency to make the most of its food by two or three crosses on top of those 

 old American families, we have as good cattle as any bred in England or 

 Scotland. 



I am absolutely in favor of doing away with the present nomenclature. 

 We call an animal Young Maiy, or some such name, when she has no 

 more of the blood of Young Mary in her than of eight or nine other ani- 

 mals. You might as well put a pint of salt water in the river at St. 

 Louis and expect to taste it at New Orleans. We see at sales all over 

 the country superb young animals going into the I'ing under the name of 

 Young Marys or something of the kind, when they belong to good old 

 families. In the herd books stop using the name of the imported cow. 

 Give two or three of the top crosses, which is. of course, a key to the 

 pedigree, and no longer in recording pedigrees say the animal is of im- 



