320 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



altogether satisfactorj-. but it did prove what the short-horn can do as 

 a dual purpose animal. I wish to correct Professor Quick in one respect. 

 The American Association did not enter the dairy show. We entered 

 the dual purpose show. We declined to enter the dairy show, so he 

 offered us the dual purpose class and we entered that. That was a suc- 

 cess except in the case of the calves. Conditions were not carried out 

 as agi-eed upon by the authorities, and our calf show was a failure. 

 Twenty-five per cent, was allowed us for the calf. The intention was 

 to have nurse cows to push the calves forward. They refused to allow 

 us to have nui'se cows, and a great many of the calves died. We did 

 establish the fact that the short-horn is a dual purpose cow. The cows 

 we had down there gained over one hundred pounds and made the gi-eat- 

 est record ever made by short-horn cows anywhere. We claim the short- 

 horn will give the farmer all the milk and butter he needs, and some to 

 spare, and then will make a first class beef animal if he wants to make 

 a beef animal of it. I don't know that I can say anything more on the 

 subject, for I am sure we all agree as to the. merits of the short-horn in 

 this particular. 



Senator Harris: I was very much interested in Mrs. Meredith's state- 

 ment of reasons why the short-horn is the best cow for the Indiana 

 farmer. There is a little broader way in which that question can be 

 put that might touch upon a point she only alluded to. We might ask 

 the question, "Why is the short-horn the best for farmers everywhere on 

 land worth from sixty dollars an acre and up?" Some years ago land in 

 Eastern Kansas began to go up to fifty and sixty and seventy-five dollars 

 an acre; and, while it had seemed a very simple proposition to raise 

 cattle on land worth ten or fifteen dollars an acre, often helped out by 

 ad oining lands belonging to people in Indiana and elsewhere, when it 

 reached the high figures spoken of it was more difficult. With all the 

 claims that are made for the other breeds, my experience and observation 

 lead me to believe there is no class of cattle which have an equal degree 

 of early maturity. The only way to make these farmers see the value of 

 the short-horn for that sort of land is to demonstrate its worth to them. 

 What convinced me of the value of these animals for such high priced 

 land was the ])roduction of liaby beef. I found it was better to have 

 tlic calves come in the fall and let them go through the winter with 

 their dams, and just as early as possible begin to teach the calf to eat. 

 Weaning on my farm was not a very painful process, because when I was 

 trying to feed baby beef steers they left their mothers Avith comparative 

 indifference. I liad them on practically full feed before I attempted to 

 wean them, which was when they were from six to seven months old. 

 I found that during the summer the amount of pasturage needed for 

 little bullocks of that kind Avas very small. I fed them right along and 

 for a number of years succeeded in producing one or two carloads of 



