402 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



would be better to use a little more printer's ink than to attempt to 

 show. 



C. F. Rice: In reply to the inquiry of your subscriber in regard to 

 whether it pays to show cattle I will say from an advertising standpoint 

 I think it does, for you can realize from a fair campaign better results 

 than from the same amount of money spent in any other way, but first 

 you want a herd that either can win honors or stand along up the list 

 and I would say show as near a herd of your own breeding as possible. 

 A new beginner cannot do that. Take the show business from the finan- 

 cial standpoint and it is a failure, for if you can win the expenses of 

 your herd you can think yourself fortunate, and there are more herds 

 showing that are losing money than are winning their expenses. 



Z. T. Kinsell: I will say as a breeder of registered cattle that it 

 pays to go into the show business. I think it is a good advertisement and 

 as such pays. At the fairs you will meet parties looking for cattle that 

 would not come to your farm to see them. You can show them the kind 

 and quality of cattle you have at home by what you have at the fair. 

 You also get acquainted with some of the best breeders of your breed 

 and they help advertise them for you. Some of the best sales I have 

 ever made have been at the shows. I also get inquiries from parties 

 who have seen my cattle at the fairs. Another great benefit in showing 

 is in the comparison of your cattle with others; in this way you can see 

 where your stuff is lacking and where they need improvement to meet 

 the demands of the public. 



To be a successful breeder you must breed the type that suits the 

 buyer. It also pays to keep a few animals in show condition to show 

 the visitors at your farm what your cattle will make when developed. 

 At the shows you come in contact with the best breeders and feeders of 

 the country, and I have always caught on to new ways of feeding and 

 caring for my cattle that more than pay for the extra expense of show- 

 ing. I may go to the state fair and not get a prize and still make money 

 out of my showing as an advertisement. As a small breeder I have had 

 no trouble in selling all I can produce. I find with the agricultural col- 

 leges, fairs and shows in educating the public as to what constitutes a 

 good animal we must breed the best to get the prices that pay. 



J. H. Miller: "Whether it pays to show cattle depends greatly on the 

 kind of cattle and the kind of man who is the exhibitor. Every breeder 

 worthy the name strains every nerve and his bank account to raise the 

 standard of his herd from year to year to get as near his ideal of perfec- 

 tion in animal form as he can. The nearer he gets to it, if it is the 

 right one and in popular demand, will be the measure of his success as a 

 breeder. The show yard to learn and unlearn along this line is the best 

 place I know of. To the wide-awake beginner in the show business the 

 experience gained will be worth a great deal of money. It will also give 



