754 A HISTORY OP HEREFORD CATTLE 



annually on an average probably 10,000 head of 

 grade and purebred Herefords and 20,000 Short- 

 horns, the bulk of the cows being from a Texas 

 foundation. He says that in his experience the 

 Hereford bull is "far and away the best for range 

 purposes. " As a rustler he insists that the Here- 

 ford is "infinitely better than the Shorthorn, having 

 more vitality ", and he testifies that "when Here- 

 ford bulls and Shorthorn bulls are turned out in the 

 spring in very large pastures with Shorthorn cows, 

 the bulk of the early calves are i white faces/ " 



Capt. Tod states that though it is generally agreed 

 that Hereford bulls have made their greatest suc- 

 cess when the cow herds had previously been more 

 or less improved by the use of Shorthorn blood, it 

 should be explained that in the early days of grading 

 up from common cows, while there were plenty of 

 good Shorthorn bulls used, many of the Hereford 

 bulls resorted to were little better than " scrubs ", 

 and were largely grades. 



In regard to the assertion that the continued use 

 of one Hereford cross after another upon a herd al- 

 ready well graded up with white-riced blood tends 

 to an ultimate loss of size and weight, Capt. Tod 

 says: 



"My observation is that ranchmen have not been 

 persistent enough, have got tired out too soon with 

 the long effort necessary, have shut up the purse 

 strings too tightly, and have not kept on purchasing 

 better and better bulls. My experience is that if 

 this is done the seven-eighths or fifteen-sixteenths 

 grade Hereford cows do not show a loss of weight 



