808 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



breeding proposition on the plains at Bovina, and 

 are simply handling our yearlings from that point. 

 We take the bulls away from the herd Nov. 1 each 

 year, and put them back June 15. On good pasture 

 all will winter strong and fat without grain. We 

 brand approximately 5,000 head of calves each 

 year. ' 9 



Scale Retained Through Selection. Just as the 

 interests of the Shorthorn cattle, as bred in the 

 older states, have frequently been sacrificed through 

 excess of zeal on the part of their advocates, so the 

 widespread popularity of the Hereford in the west 

 has not been without its unfavorable effect in cer- 

 tain cases upon the character of the " white faces" 

 produced under range conditions. So eager were 

 herd managers to establish thoroughly the type that 

 had proved so useful in their business that lack of 

 care in selection of bulls led not infrequently to de- 

 terioration in size. The best registered bulls were, 

 except during certain years of depression, compara- 

 tively high in price. Furthermore, some rangemen 

 while keen judges of values of cattle en bloc were 

 not formerly expert in the matter of what consti- 

 tuted the cardinal points to be sought in an indi- 

 vidual purebred animal. In too many cases the red 

 coat and the white face seemed to be about the only 

 qualifications required. Bone, size, constitution and 

 correct conformation were not always appreciated 

 or demanded. To this rule, however, there were of 

 course many exceptions, but the owners of regis- 

 tered herds in the older states usually outbid range- 

 men for the best individual cattle. As has always 



