138 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mr. Clark: Mr. Holt's idea is correct. He desires a uniformity of 

 herd, and if he commences at the bottom round and follows that up, he 

 is making a distinct strain or type, and he can form a new herd of cattle, 

 and call them, if you please, the "Gaylord." That is the way such a 

 thing is done. 



Now, with regard to the paper of my friend Mr. Ball. I take some 

 issue with him in regard to his process of breeding. How can he get 

 his general purpose animal? It is only by selecting male and female of 

 a distinct breed, and crossing it with a distinct breed of some other kind. 

 He must also have his ideal, the same as my friend Mr. Holt, and in so 

 doing, you must not argue against the breeding of pure stock, for only by 

 means of the pure stock can you form the general purpose animal. 



Mr. Ball: I am glad Mr. Clark brought out that idea of breeding for 

 symmetry. The general purpose cow is to bridge over certain circum- 

 stances. What the farmer wants of her is a cow that is good for beef 

 and for milk, but of course that cow will not be perfection in either direc- 

 tion. My practice would be to make selection from grade Shorthorns. 

 The Shorthorns include both requisites as beef and milk producing cattle. 

 The Shorthorn is capable of producing both results. I am convinced 

 that it is a good thing for every farmer who will feed well, to breed 

 what is called a general purpose cow. 



I believe in selecting for uniformity too, but it should be uniformity 

 of excellence. If I go to Mr. Clark's herd, and find a row of cows of 

 excellent dairy type, and found that they were all excellent yielders, 

 then I would not stop to ask whether they were colored like Brown Bessie 

 or not. If I wanted to breed cows for a business, I would go into a herd 

 that had uniformity in business qualities. We all believe in that, but it 

 ought to be emphasized on the record. 



Mr. Holt: That was what I meant to advocate. I would not take a 

 heifer from a herd just because they were all colored alike. Of course 

 I would look for the good qualities — my ideal cow. 



Mr. Morrill : I am today a rank outsider in any discussion of this kind, 

 but I have been engaged in this business in years gone by, and I do 

 think Mr. Holt's ideas are worthy of careful consideration. I told you 

 that the ladder of fame is a long one, and there are many at the bottom 

 and very few at the top, and the top must be a pleasant elevation for 

 those who get there, but the breeder who produces the pure bred stock 

 is the man to whom we have to go for improvement. That man should 

 have an ideal. In some herds we find the man's brain working at cross 

 purposes. He is trying to do something and does not know how. We 

 go into other herds where a man has a clear ideal, and has good prac- 

 tical judgment, and he will get there; he will succeed . 



You will find many popular breeders among the Shorthorn men. One 

 man knows how to breed a Shorthorn that fats up smooth, another pro- 

 duces one that fats up lumpy, and in the wrong place. The idea of color, 

 size, and similarity is very valuable, but you must make your selection 

 from other qualities as well. 



