LECTURE XXVII, 



POLLED DURHAM CATTLE. 



Origin, Development, and Correct Type. 



This breed is of special interest to every one, for it is the 

 only purely American breed of cattle, and has been evolved 

 in such recent times that the full history of its origin and 

 development is at our command. 



Two distinct lines of breeding are entitled to registry in 

 the Polled Durham herd book. The first includes the ani- 

 mals that contain some blood other than pure Shorthorns; 

 the other is spoken of as double standard, and consists of 

 pure-bred Shorthorns from which the horns have been elimi- 

 nated. 



Work in building up the first strain was begun in or about 

 1870 by Dr. W. W. Crane of Tippecanoe, Ohio. His aim was 

 to produce a Shorthorn in all respects save horns. He, ac- 

 cordingly, secured all the polled cows or "mulleys" he could 

 get. These have been known in all countries, in practically 

 all times, but usually appear with more or less intermit- 

 tency; that is, the polled characteristic sometimes appeared, 

 and then would skip a generation or two. The only reason- 

 able hypothesis is that these animals arose from occasional 

 sports. 



On such polled cows as he could secure, approaching in 

 type to the Shorthorn, Dr. Crane proceeded to cross good 

 Shorthorn bulls; these bulls possessed horns, but a fair pro- 

 portion of the progeny did not, and by steady work, select- 

 ing only those heifers which had the polled characteristic, 



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