CHAPTER XII. 



THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR. 



The very highest degree of excellence, indeed ap- 

 proximate perfection, is required to win blue and 

 purple ribbons in great open competitions. This is 

 the reason why breeders always have a pride in 

 tracing the descent of their cattle, if possible, from 

 ancestors whose titles to superiority have been made 

 clear by notable showyard victories. It may there- 

 fore serve a useful purpose to take up in some detail 

 the roster of great names developed by some of the 

 more memorable contests that occurred during the 

 years immediately following this great influx of 

 Herefordshire's best blood into the western states, 

 for out of this flood of importations emerged the 

 herds, distributed far and wide, that have since 

 made the blood practically available to all parts of 

 the country upon a legitimate commercial basis. 



As we have already pointed out, Sir Charles, Suc- 

 cess, Hero, and the Anxieties led the early line of 

 Herefords in the great battle of the breeds that con- 

 stituted so marked a feature of the western fairs 

 from 1876 to the later >80's. They were followed 

 by many British showyard stars of the first magni- 

 tude; but within a comparatively short space of 

 time American breeders were producing by a judi- 

 cious blending of the various bloods now in their 



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