TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XI 581 



prizes, though Clouss, of Iowa, scored heavily in a number of the classes. 

 It is hard for the onlooker at the show ring to work up much enthusiasm 

 over the Red Polled, for the reason that they represent neither a strictly 

 dairy nor a beef type. We are convinced, however, that this is a breed 

 well worth watching, for the representatives of it are constantly improv- 

 ing in quality. H. J. Handschin, of North Dakota, judged this interesting 

 breed. 



THE FAT STOCK SHOW. 



The fat stock show was good, considering the earliness of the show 

 season. Most of the animals were a little underdone, but some showed in 

 the very prime of condition. For the first time in a number of years, 

 the Short-horns won the grand champion steer, Tomson Bros., of Dover, 

 Kan., coming out on top with the red and white steer. Benefactor. Last 

 year, when shown by the Kansas Agricultural College, this steer won a 

 number of prizes, taking second place at the International in the yearling 

 Short-horn class, and being beaten only by the champion Canadian steer. 

 By no means did Benefactor have things his own way in the grand cham- 

 pionship class. The big Escher & Ryan grade Angus and Van Natta's 

 pure-bred Hereford yearling both gave him a run for the money. The 

 Short-horn was undoubtedly the highest finished, and in quality was of 

 the very best. He should dress out a wonderfully high percentage of 

 meat. Some criticised his flesh as being a trifle soft. Tomson Bros, will 

 certainly have a job on their hands to keep him in the very best of condi- 

 tion throughout the show circuit. The big Angus grade carried a wealth 

 of hard, smooth flesh, but had the framework to put on even more. He 

 is a wonderfully good steer at the present time, but has more room for 

 improvement than the Short-horn. Donald Lad 5th, the pure- 

 bred yearling Hereford, is a steer of wonderful smoothness, 

 and the highest of quality. The greatest fight was between 

 the Angus and the Short-horn, however, and when the three judges 

 finally declared in favor of the Short-horn there were many who were 

 pleased. The Short-horn steer show was not as heavy and on the whole 

 not as good as it might be. Saunders won the grade Short-horn classes, 

 while Tomson Bros, secured four out of the five prizes in the pure-breds. 

 The Hereford exhibit was much the same in numbers and in quality as the 

 Short-horns. Van Natta and Cudahy divided most of the prizes in the 

 pure-breds. Tow, of Norway, Iowa, secured the champion grade. The 

 Angus competition was rather keener than the Short-horn and Hereford. 

 Escher & Ryan, of Irwin, Iowa, had things their own way, securing all 

 firsts and championships, in both the pure-bred and grade Angus classes. 

 Battles and Miller both pushed this firm rather hard in a number of in- 

 stances, however. 



THE DAIRY SHOW. 



Two things marked a distinct advance in the dairy show over that of 

 last year. One was the entrance of a new breed, the Brown Swiss, into 



