216 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



times Avheti ready for the market, — some at Christmas, others in Februarv and 

 March, and still other lots in June and July. 



Fed and cared for in this way, our grade Hereford steers weigh from four- 

 teen to sixteen hundred pounds live weight at tliree years old, and dress from 

 sixty -two to sixty -five pounds to cwt. live weight. Our Shorthorn and Devon 

 grades never reached this average of our llerefords, and our herdsmen say 

 they Avould rather keep "three Herefords than two Shorthorns" in the stalls 

 in winter, or on i)asture in summer. 



Our Hereford steers are always fat and ready for the meat-block. The 

 Devons come nearer to the Herefords in this respect than the Shorthorns; but 

 they are much smaller at the same age, and thus less profitable to the farmer. 



The exi)eriment inaugurated by the Governor was continued during the three 

 years of his lifetime by himself and by his son, the Hon. Wm. W. Crapo, of 

 New Bedford, Mass., for four or five years subsequently. The result was to 

 satisfy him, and has been to satisfy us also, that the Hereford breed of cattle 

 for farmers ni general in this climate is more profitable, all things considered, 

 than any other with which we are acquainted. 



Do you ask me to explain why? I answer: because they mature earlier, are 

 more hardy and less liable to disease, are better feeders and grazers, fatten on 

 less food in their stalls, and keep in llesh at all seasons of the year; and when 

 killed produce more dressed beef to the cwt., live weight, and alive or dressed 

 command a more ready sale, where the qualities of their meat are known, than 

 any other cattle in the world. 



This is "putting it strongly,"' you will say; but we have proved it beyond 

 cavil, on a scale large enough and continuing through a series of years long 

 enough, to satisfy any unprejudiced mind. 



At the beginning we were not prepossessed in favor of the llerefords. Our 

 foreman and herdsman on the farm were both Shorthorn admirers, and did 

 not take gracefully at first to the white faces. The Shorthorns were then the 

 fashionable breed. We had a ready sale at large and remunerative prices for 

 our pure blood Shorthorn calves, and also for our Devons, while our Herefords 

 went begging for jjurchasers at jnerely nominal prices. It was not, then, 

 because of their greater popularity among breeders and farmers in this State, 

 or in this country, that caused us to adopt the Herefords on our farm. It was 

 simply and i)urcly on their merit. They have worked themselves uj) against 

 all o})i)osition from every quarter, until to-day thoy stand unrivaled in })opu- 

 larity by any breed in this country. 



Whence this change? Wiiy is it that our Shorthorn bull dropped July 30th, 

 1877; thoroughbred, good pedigree, good animal, stands in his stall to-day at 

 the nominal i)rice of $50, while our llerefords arc all sold at three times that 

 figure; and they were sold at about one-half the price realized by other 

 breeders? Why is it that our Shorthorn heifers and cows stand in their stalls 

 unsold at prices less than we are offered for our grade Hereford heifers and 

 cows? Why is it that I have sold eigiitecn Hereford grade bull calves to Mr. 

 Powell, of Beecher, Mill county, 111., for §900, or an average of $oO each, while 

 I cannot sell a jnu'e blooded Sliorthorn one year older than some of those grades 

 for 850? Is this experience of ours an exceptional one? Not at all. 



In the Journal of Agriculture and Farmer, iniblished at St. Louis, Mo., of 

 December :i8th, is a letter from T. L. Miller, of Illinois, in which he says, 

 "Parties wisiiing to itnprove their stock are buying thoroughbred Hereford 

 bulls at prices three or four times as high as Shorthorn bulls can be bought 



