CHAPTER XIV. 

 DUAL-PURPOSE CATTLE. 



Dual-purpose cattle are all-purpose or general-purpose 

 cattle. They occupy a position midway between the beef and 

 the dairy types, the aim being to combine the good points of 

 both beef and dairy cattle as nearly as possible. The dual- 

 purpose cow, however, does not give as much milk as the dairy 

 cow, nor does she make as much beef as the beef cow. At present 

 the demand for dual-purpose cattle is comparatively limited, 

 although it has been predicted that many farms will eventually 

 adopt the dual-purpose type as the one most profitable. It is 

 also believed that those who maintain beef breeding herds will 

 in the future pay more attention to the milking qualities of their 

 cows. 



Perhaps no subject relating to cattle has aroused so much 

 discussion as has the type, economic importance, and probable 

 future of the dual-purpose cow. It has been argued that the 

 day of general-purpose animals is past. It is said that this is 

 a day of specialization in all things, and that better results and 

 more profit are obtained from animals which do one thing and 

 do it well, than are obtained from animals which do two or three 

 things in a mediocre way. While it is true that the tendency 

 in the live-stock world is more and more toward highly spe- 

 cialized types of animals, it is also true that there are good argu- 

 ments in favor of a dual-purpose type of cattle. Of these argu- 

 ments, the best one is that there is need of a farmer's cow; that 

 is, a cow for the farmer who is neither a beef producer nor a 

 dairyman, but who wants to produce enough meat and milk 

 for his own use. Such a man wants a cow that gives a good 

 flow of milk, and yet one that has a strong enough beef tendency 

 to produce a calf that will feed out well and make a good carcass; 

 in other words, this man wants a dual-purpose cow. There 

 can be no doubting this argument and it was this demand which 

 made the old-time Shorthorn the popular cow with farmers 

 fifty or sixty years ago. 



Another argument frequently advanced in behalf of dual- 

 purpose cattle is that beef production on high-priced land must, 

 in the future, come from a dual-purpose type of cattle. On west- 

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