224 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 



no attempt was made to keep up the race, and the result 

 was that they became merged into other stocks and dis- 

 appeared. The importation of 1840 was somewhat larger 

 and more successful in that the cattle were maintained 

 in their purity and pedigree records were kept. The 

 descendants of this importation have continued to the 

 present day and are registered in the American Hereford 

 Record. 



It was not until the Centennial Exposition at Phila- 

 delphia, in 1876, that the cattle-growers of the western 

 part of the United States were attracted to the visible 

 merits of this breed of cattle. A very attractive herd of 

 the descendants of later importations was on exhibition 

 on this occasion. To nearly all of the cattle-men of the 

 West the Hereford was an unheard-of breed, and their uni- 

 formity, color and markings, together with their beef- 

 carrying qualities, were revelations to them. As the 

 cattle-growing interests were at that time assuming 

 enormous proportions in the country west of the Missouri 

 river, these visiting cattle-men were the more easily pre- 

 vailed on to give the Herefords a trial under their system 

 of production. 



In the few succeeding years all the bulls obtainable 

 of this breed were bought and shipped to different parts 

 of the range country from Wyoming to Texas. It was 

 then developed that the Hereford bull, when bred to range- 

 bred cows, transmitted to his progeny his breed characteris- 

 tics to a great degree, and ranchmen proceeded at once to 

 make arrangements to introduce Hereford bulls into their 

 herds. The popularity of the breed steadily grew and 

 spread throughout the cattle-growing sections, and it soon 

 became evident that they were impressing their characters 

 on the improved range stock. This wave of popularity 



