382 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



many is, they will take an old English type of cow that is lean, has high, 

 thin bones, the large frame, the regular dairy type — and they bring her 

 over here and start a herd of that kind. What are they going to do when 

 they want to change sires? They have gone and gotten the best beef 

 sires they could get, and then have ruined their dairy type and have got 

 the beef type. It is the tendency of the American people to do this, and it 

 is the greatest danger in my mind with the dual purpose cow. 



Mr. Bruns — I believe we will pull away from the dual purpose cow 

 in time and give our attention to the dairy business. We should follow 

 some special line of business. We are living in an age of specialties. 

 We must do special work ; and I believe that is the dairyman's only salva- 

 tion. 



Mr. Patterson — Some years ago we had a live stock breeders' meet- 

 ing at Mexico, and Mr. Harned was on the program to read a paper about 

 the cow that had all these good qualities — a very good milker and a very 

 good beef cow ; and after he bad said all he had to say I just raised up 

 and said, "Mr. Harned, I wish you would bring us such a cow as you de- 

 scribe." "Well," he said, "she ought to be somewhere." I said, "yes, she 

 ought to be somewhere, but she has not shown herself." When we get 

 to believing in a thing it is hard for us to break away from it — it was hard 

 for me to break way from shorthorns. I liked them ; but when I got to 

 using the Jersey animal I thought she was better, and I worked up my 

 herd with them. I say the sooner you break away from that dual pur- 

 pose cow the better off you will be. You might as well make up your 

 mind to it as soon as you can if you want to make any money. 



Prof. Washburn — I have been much interested in that papef. I am 

 a dairyman. Have been traveling for the past two years among the 

 farmers of this State, and while I find they are frequently wrong in their 

 conclusions, yet I find that in many instances they have a whole lot of 

 foundation for their judgment, and therefore I say I have sympathy and 

 "charity" for Mr. Harned in the conclusion he has reached, as expressed 

 in his paper. Might he not also be right? I understand that he said in 

 his paper that the dual purpose cow, which gives the most milk, pro- 

 duces the best show steers. We all know the young animal liberally fed 

 will grow more rapidly and put on meat more rapidly than the young 

 animal not well fed. The animal well started will show that start for a 

 long time. And cannot the beef animal produce milk enough to raise 

 that calf in a way that she can be used for show purposes? 



Mr. Ashburn — Suppose you wanted to show her at two or three years 

 of age ? 



Prof. Washburn — I don't claim to be a beef man; but in two years 



