TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XI 557 



POLLED DXTBHAMS, 



This year marked a high score for Polled Durham achievements in 

 Iowa. Such uniformly high character and fidelity to approved type are 

 rare. Reds and roans prevailed, with a few whites. Some of the cattle 

 were not in very high flesh but every animal shown bore the mark of 

 good breeding. The female classes were especially strong and furnished 

 plenty of work for Chas. Bellows, Maryville, Mo., in sifting out the win- 

 ners. His work for the most part pleased the ringside and satisfied ex- 

 hibitors. 



The Confessor set a good standard for the bulls, with his broad low 

 masculine type, thick smooth flesh, and superior handling. He carries 

 his bloom remarkably well., and no one doubted his right to the purple 

 ribbon as well as the blue. His herd mate standing second is larger 

 but not so smoothly nor ■so fully packed with beef. Secret Victor was 

 the only two-year-old bull shown, but he would have stood well up among 

 other real good ones. Two roans led the next class and opinion was 

 divided as to their relative merits. The winner is young but growthy 

 and very smooth and mellow although less thickly covered than the older 

 bull, which was. especially thick in back and loin. Senior bull calves 

 numbered eleven led by a very neat white one very smoothly turned and 

 growthy but not so blocky as some of the older ones in the class. The 

 junior calves were also a fine lot. 



A very sweet matronly sort is the red Queen Miami 5th which won the 

 blue for aged cows. She is very level and smoother than the thicker 

 fleshed, very low-set roan Wanderer's Violet. A careful balancing of 

 points was required between the two candidates for chief honors among 

 the two-year-olds, but Lady Craven, subsequently given the grand cham- 

 pionship, is more beautiful of front and very thick in the loin. A level 

 smooth good-fronted roan led the senior yearlings and the roan at the 

 head of the next class is of particularly beautiful type. The calves are a 

 splendid lot. 



BED POLLS. 



Red Polls made the best show of the breed ever seen at this fair. 

 Numbers were not lacking and the combination of beef and milking 

 capacity was conspicuous. One of the most striking features of the ex- 

 hibit was the remarkable uniformity of type displayed all through. The 

 spread of body and length of rib necessary for supplying a large active 

 udder also carried a moderately thick covering of smooth flesh in the 

 bulls, dry cows and youngsters. Prof. W. F. Handschin, Urbana, 111., 

 tied the ribbons. He was obviously puzzled at times, as w^ere onany of 

 the spectators to discriminate justly between the beef and dairy indica- 

 tions of the cattle. Most of his work was consistently done. 



The show started out strongly with six grand a?red bulls. The winner 

 Logan is a very low-set large-chested bull, level, smooth and of medium 

 size. The next three followed quite faithfully after the same general 

 pattern. Logan kept on winning until he got two purple ribbons. A 

 very deep middle and short legs distinguished the two-year-old Reo, al- 

 though Homer is perhaps a bit smoother. The yearling Meddler is of 



