Live Stock Breeders' Association. 287 



treatment was but fuel to the flames of their determination to 

 succeed. The present status of the cause of the Hereford is due as 

 much, if not more, to the indomitable courage and persistent efforts 

 of its breeders than to the surpassing merits of the breed. While 

 truth is mighty and will prevail ultimately, yet its ends are some- 

 times sooner reached by judicious efforts in the direction of its ac- 

 complishment. 



A few veterans of the early days of the Association are still in 

 the ranks and doing yeoman's service for the cause. 



Comparatively speaking, but few of the members of the Here- 

 ford Association of today know the origin or the early action of the 

 plucky pioneers, who first made a breach in the Great Chinese Wall 

 of public popularity that surrounded a certain other breed of cattle. 



The growth and prosperity of this association since its or- 

 ganization have been something marvelous and are certainly a 

 compliment to its management. The number of shareholders in 

 the same is now about 3,700 breeders, and a very conservative 

 valuation upon the cattle owned by these at the present low price, is 

 about 12 millions of dollars. 



The available assets of the Association are today about $65,000, 

 and in addition to this, about $160,000 have been distributed among 

 the breeders as premiums to cattle exhibited at the various fairs 

 and fat stock shows throughout the country. 



It has published thirty volumes of the record, containing 

 285,000 entries. It has established and maintained an office for 

 keeping the records of the Association that for promptness and dis- 

 patch in attending to business, for care exercised in detecting and 

 preventing errors or frauds in pedigrees for the amount of work 

 performed for the cost thereof, and for systematic care and atten- 

 tion to the business and interests of the Association, is without a 

 superior, if it has an equal, in any similar organization. 



In addition to the foregoing, it was the first to inaugurate the 

 holding of great breeding shows and combination sales under the 

 auspices of the National Association of Breeders, the first of 

 these ever held being for Herefords and under the auspices 

 of this Association at Kansas City Mo., in 1899, at which 

 there was gathered the greatest congregation of fine cattle of any 

 one breed the world has ever seen. From this show sprung the 

 present Great American Royal Live Stock Show, which today has 

 no equal in the world as a breeding show. 



No concerted action or especial booming has been indulged 

 in, but the Hereford breed of cattle has largely upon its merit 



