90 FARM ANIMALS 



BREEDS 



Shorthorn. Undoubtedly the Shorthorn is the 

 most popular at present of all the beef breeds. 

 This statement is based chiefly on the number of 

 registered Shorthorns which is considerably greater 

 than that of any other breed and on the replies 

 received by various experiment station authorities 

 from representative farmers and beef raisers in 

 different states. Shorthorns or Durhams are at 

 present raised to some extent in every State of the 

 Union. They were first imported to this country 

 about 1790 and from 1835 on began to increase 

 rapidly in popularity. In the American Shorthorn 

 herd book 600,000 animals have been registered 

 and in Canada about 65,000. Shorthorns readily 

 adapt themselves to all kinds of climatic and agri- 

 cultural conditions and weather and their hardi- 

 ness is, at least, of medium grade. In size and 

 weight they are rather superior to any other breed 

 and in the early maturing quality they are equal 

 to the Hereford and Angus which are their most 

 prominent competitors. They become fully mature 

 at 30 months and reach the limit growth at 4 years. 

 On the range and on native pasture their grazing 

 ability is medium. They are perhaps excelled in 

 this respect by the Hereford and Angus. They 

 make good use of their feed and lay on a thick fine 

 coat of flesh on the outside of the frame. The 

 quality of the meat is also excellent. One of the 

 chief advantages in Shorthorns is their high milk- 

 ing quality. This breed is usually referred to as a 

 dual-purpose breed since it is both a good milker 

 and a beef producer. There are two general tend- 

 encies shown among breeders of Shorthorns, one 

 being to produce an excellent quality of beef and 



