'610 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



streng'fh. Then the different hreeds embraced in these classes are more or 

 less suited to the wants of buyers and users, according to their needs, 

 the nature of the soil they have to do with, the distance from markets 

 and the tastes or preference of the men who breed or buy and use 

 them. The demand for a certain breed of light or heavy stock in a dis- 

 trict generally, or for the time being, also influences the breeding and 

 raising of that class; for fashions change in the demand for these and 

 market values change with the prevailing fashion. 



These intermittent changes have perhaps been most marked and 

 noticeable in the realm of cattle breeding for meat and milk production, 

 no single breed having held the field of favor constantly or continuously, 

 and all having had their periods of unusual demand and fancy prices, 

 and of neglect and depression of values. At the same time the dealers 

 who buy and ship, and the butchers and purveyors who kill and cut up 

 the beef breeds standing highest in the public favor for the time being, 

 and also those less fortunate in that regard, do not always agree that the 

 former have the advantage as profitable carcasses from their standpoint, 

 nor do feeders all agree that animals of the popular breed of the day, 

 or its grades, are the most profitable for their purpose, while many 

 t)utchers and feeders pin their faith to the breeds that are not in the 

 swim of popularity. 



For these reasons, and others that may occur to him, the breeder who 

 has espoused a certain breed that suits his fancy and has had its day of 

 prosperity need not lose heart or become discouraged because for a time 

 the popular demand is not for his, and fickle fortune, in one of her many 

 moods, is favoring some other. The sensible thing for him to do at 

 such times is to weed out his worst animals, feeding them for beef or 

 disposing of them as best he can, retaining only the best, and improving 

 the character and quality of his herd so as to increase its usefulness 

 and attractiveness, and be ready to take advantage of a turn of the tide 

 when it takes place. During a depression is often a favorable time for a 

 breeder to buy a good sire or a female or two for the foundation of a 

 worthy family, as at such times, prices being low, the necessary outlay 

 may be comparatively little more than he has received for his culls. 

 The mistake is frequently made of selling off too closely, or of delaying 

 to purchase in a dull time or in the early days of a rebound, waiting 

 until the returning tide has reached its highest plane, then rushing into 

 buying, and, when a decline in the market comes, selling for lower prices 

 than were paid. 



These statements apply equally to breeding and buying other classes 

 of stock, as well as the beef breeds of cattle. The dairy breeds have 

 each in turn had their days of sunshine and shadow, and no one authori- 

 tatively can claim that the breed he ties to is the best. Dairymen and 

 others differ widely in their opinions as to which has the strongest claim 

 to favor. 'There are inferior and superior producing cows in each and all 

 of the breeds, and preference is largely a question of prediction, of environ- 

 ment, of contiguity to a general or special market, whether it be for cream 

 or for the manufacture of butter or of cheese, for which latter the cow 

 coming nearest to the dual-purpose standard may be considered by some 

 the most profitable. 



