LIVE STOCK BREEDERS. 175 



ing a great deal more labor and care to the farmers in milking, caring for 

 the milk and raising the calves by hand, thus reducing the number of 

 cows for which one man can care. 



In this state, blessed as it is with short winters, and, blessed as it is 

 with being able to produce large crops of corn and alfalfa and last, but 

 not least, having the blessing of being one of the great grazing states 

 in the Union, it seems there is no other class of cattle which can so profit- 

 ably be raised as the beef breed. But, this class can be divided up into 

 three sub-classes ; the scrub, which is, and should be, rapidly going out 

 of existence; the high-grade and the pure bred. Missouri is in the lead 

 with the latter. At the greatest shows in this country Missouri is always 

 represented with the best herds of Herefords, the best herds of Short- 

 Horns, and until late years, with the best herds of Angus, not only to 

 be shown, but to show. 



All farmers, however, cannot be breeders of pure bred cattle, but 

 as heretofore there is still room for improvement by grading up the fe- 

 male side of the herd with the use of pure bred sires, by careful selection 

 of the superior and a continual culling out of the inferior matrons. 



What grand results can be obtained, by the use of pure bred sires 

 is plainly seen when we consider the range steer of the past with long 

 legs supporting a poor, lean, lank body adorned with horns three feet 

 long on one end and a coarse tail dragging the ground on the other ; liv- 

 ing on the ranch eight years before going to market. Compare him with 

 the range steer of today after the use of pure bred sires for a few years. 

 They even outclass the average of our native stockers, being saleable as 

 calves and yearlings, with short legs supporting a broad, deep and smooth 

 body, thickly covered with a high quality of flesh, a mellow hide and a 

 long, mossy coat; all put there by the use of good blood. Such an ex- 

 ample should be used by every farmer as an object lesson in raising cat- 

 tle on the farm and care should be taken in selecting sires, such that when 

 mated with the cow on the farpi would produce calves that are low, broad, 

 deep, smooth and even with parallel lines. 



By being low, we mean, the property of the standing on short legs 

 and with this property comes depth throughout, giving a formation to 

 the steer of being blocky or rectangular in shape. Such a steer is usually 

 broad in proportion, adding to the breadth of loin, spring and depth of 

 rib, which points, constitute the two highest priced cuts of the steer, val- 

 ued from the butcher's standpoint. By parallel lines we not only mean a 

 straight top and underline, but the width of the shoulders must be carried 

 in a straight line out to the tailhead, giving a smooth appearance instead 

 of being roughened, as in the case where the shoulder is wedge-shaped 

 and the hip bones projecting out like a hat-rack, cutting in behind them to 



