190 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



have been able to produce one. In December last we placed some spring 

 calves in offer by writing out eighteen letters to men who had expressed 

 an interest in the matter. Within a week we had seven replies, all asking 

 that one or more calves be reserved. Prices have consequently ruled 

 strong calves at weaning time commanding $250 to $500. Many parties, 

 have bought pure-bred horned heifers in calf to our herd bull and 

 raised their own polled stock. One man put $1,700 into a small herd 

 of Hereford heifers, bred them to our bull, and recently refused for his 

 first crop of calves $2,000. Like all other new enterprises, it started 

 slowly, but it has now gained an impetus that nothing can overcome, 

 and the Polled Hereford, an accomplished fact, is here to stay. The 

 Hereford fraternity, at first questioning the possibility of producing a 

 polled strain, is awakening to the importance of this new breed character, 

 and many of them are only waiting for a bull to take up the enterprise. 

 Breeders of other beef breeds who like the Herefords, but dislike the 

 horns, and so selected a hornless breed, are warm advocates of this 

 new Hereford. Demand produces a supply, and ere many months we 

 expect to have herds in every state of the pure-bred cattle belt and, 

 gaining strength with numbers, we look forward to an unprecedented 

 growth and popularity. 



I would not have you imagine for a single moment that you must 

 put aside all your favorite blood lines when you start with this new 

 breed, for by crossing a polled bull on cows of any desired family, you. 

 can produce polled calves of any blood you wish. We have resorted 

 very largely to this mating of horned Hereford cows with polled bulls 

 in building up the individuality of our herds, since we can cross upon 

 cows of as good type, conformation and pedigree as we desire and pro- 

 duce calves as good as any ones. Judicious inbreeding can be used in 

 fixing the polled character, and thereafter we can breed in any line de- 

 sired. We do not come to you with a new and untried breed of cattle, 

 but simply taking advantage of a commercially valuable variation, we 

 propose to engraft it upon the established breed and add nuich to its 

 present high value while detracting in no way from its well known 

 merit. 



Among a lot of queer notions prevalent everywhere concerning 

 Polled Hereford cattle is the idea that they are uncertain breeders and 

 not true to type. That one year a bull may sire a few polled calves, 

 the next year many, and perhaps the third year none. Furthermore, 

 that the percentage of polled calves will be small, say 10 to 15 per cent. 

 This is an error, as is demonstrated by the experiences of all our 

 breeders. A "sport," or original polled bull or a polled bull with one 

 horned parent, will sire from 50 to 75 per cent polled calves when 



