808 A HISTORY OF SHOET-HORN CATTLE. 



been awarded to animals carrying a Short-horn 

 cross. From this it appears that the breed has 

 easily held its own against the combined oppo- 

 sition of all rival sorts. 



American Fat- Stock Show. As already men- 

 tioned the establishment of the American Fat- 

 Stock Show under the auspices of the Illinois 

 State Board of Agriculture, Chicago, in the 

 autumn of 1878, marked an epoch in the his- 

 tory of the breed in the United States. It sub- 

 stituted for the often misleading tests of the 

 auction ring a public competition based solely 

 on demonstrated merit for feeding purposes; in 

 which considerations of pedigree, pride of birth 

 and ancestry were absolutely eliminated. It 

 established a test, the results of which were 

 worked out by the cold logic of the scales and 

 the judgment of butchers and feeders. It 

 forced the breeders of Short-horns to seek a 

 class of cattle that could successfully contend 

 with such highly specialized beef types as the 

 Herefords, Aberdeen- Angus and Galloways; and 

 the manner in which the great dual-purpose 

 breed responded to the call thus made upon it 

 affords striking demonstration of the inherent 

 capabilities of the race. In these day of "baby 

 beef" it is interesting to note the ages and 

 weights of the steers with which prizes were 

 won at the initial shows, 



John D. Gillett of Elkhart, 111., who had 



