40 A HISTORY OP HEREFORD CATTLE 



herents of the white-faced sort gained complete as- 

 cendency. 



Calves are still dropped at intervals that are so 

 badly splashed with white that they are not retained 

 for breeding purposes, but such instances are rare. 

 Again the white crest is not invariably present. Its 

 absence, however, is not a sign of impure breeding, 

 as some of our ranchmen have imagined. Eed hair 

 around the eyes is also sometimes seen.* This is 

 objected to by some, but for no valid reason. It is 

 a mere matter of taste. 



Very dark red verging on black is to be avoided. 

 It is too often accompanied by harsh wiry hair 

 which indicates lack of quality. Pale yellow is not 

 to be sought. Some regard it as a sign of delicacy. 

 Both extremes are objectionable. Between these 

 two will be found the golden mean. Cattle with a 

 tendency toward a tinge of orange in the skin are 

 almost invariably mellow handlers and good feed- 

 ers, and these remarks apply to Shorthorns as well 

 as to the Herefords. In any case an abundance of 

 hair is desirable. In winter the Hereford should 

 grow a heavy coat, with hair so long as usually to 

 show a marked tendency to curl. In England where 

 the summers are not so hot and dry as in the States 

 cattle retain better coats throughout the year, so 

 that old-country exhibitors have not the difficulty in 



*"Brown-eyed" calves were always great favorites with cer- 

 tain leading- American feeders, among others the late John Stew- 

 ard, one of the most intelligent men ever identified with American 

 Hereford breeding, and a successful showman. 



