HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



171 



butchers, also the facts of their early maturity. 

 You, as editor of that "Journal," ought to be 

 extremely cautious how you advance your opin- 

 ion, extolling any one breed over another; it is 

 a ruinous, selfish principle for such a Society to 

 adopt. Such opinions adopted by the Society 

 are puffs unfounded, and very injurious and 

 destructive to all connected with them. 



The Hereford breed is the only one that has 

 taken first prizes at Smithfield and Birming- 

 ham Shows at two years old. They have done 

 this three times, proof of which you can find 

 by referring to the record of each club. The 

 Shorthorns have never won a prize younger than 

 three, and if you refer back to the records you 

 will not only find one at that age; they are 

 generally four and upwards. 



You are the first man who dare risk his repu- 

 tation in print that Shorthorns are uniform in 

 quality. I will defy you to refer me to a just 

 breeder of Shorthorns who will admit this. 

 They kuoir better, but prefer being silent on 

 the subject. It is those who are ignorant of the 

 facts, and wish to make themselves notorious 

 who advance such opinions, and it is by this 

 abominable system that the Shorthorns have ob- 

 tained their assured notoriety, and called "first 

 class." 



Societies, especially those of the Empire 

 State, ought to be impartial and give all breeds 

 an equal chance. If members of that Society 

 are expected to look up to its superior officers 

 for example it is very important that those of- 

 ficers are upright and just men. 



Now, Mr. Johnson, I ask you (as I know you 

 to be an honest and just man) whether you 

 know a herd of Shorthorns uniform in quality? 

 No breed on earth varies more in this respect. 

 I have seen first, second and third quality in 

 one herd, and that of puffed notoriety. I have 

 never seen a herd of Shorthorns (and I have 

 seen a great many, both in England and this 

 country) without two qualities, and those fre- 

 quently of second and third. 



As you have decided for the Society that 

 Shorthorns are bcM, and Hercfords are second, 

 it is high time we show outside the gate, and 

 challenge to show the Shorthorns inside, as we 

 are there forbidden to show by the remarks ad- 

 vanced by the secretary of that Society, nor can 

 Herefords ever succumb to Shorthorns, when 

 we have shamefully beaten them in England 

 under the most adverse circumstances and by 

 the best judges. 



I send you an extract from Mr. R. Rowland's 

 letter to me, dated March 13, 1855, giving 

 weights of Herefords and prices sold to the 

 butchers. When you can honorably beat them, 



you are at liberty to state all the particulars 

 in your "Journal." 



Hereford breeders challenge you to do so, and 

 until you can do so truthfully we shall consider 

 our breed triumphant in reality. 



Richard Rowland, Esq., and successor to the 

 well-known Mr. Westcar, writes me as follows: 



"I will add the prices of some of Mr. West- 

 car's oxen. The weights I do not know, ex- 

 cept in a few cases. I was an exhibitor for 

 some years after I came here and took three 

 prizes with Hereford oxen, which weighed from 

 290 to 270 stone, eight pounds to the stone 

 these were the four quarters [that means dead 

 weight, or 4,000 to 3,800 Ibs. live weight, T. L. 

 M.], and that is about the weight Mr. Westcar's 

 large oxen reached. I have shown for many 

 years, but have now" left off. Shorthorn men 

 in the aristocracy always ruled at Smithfield, 

 and Hereford feeders are very tenacious of feed- 

 ing there on that account, but the prize Short- 

 horns that win there (as you have seen) go to 

 Birmingham, and get fairly beaten by Here- 

 fords where no favor is shown to breeds of any 

 kind; they are there governed by true merit." 



Now, Mr. Johnson, if you will give a prize 

 for the six heaviest breeding cows of any breed 

 from one breeder, fed on hay, roots and pasture 

 only, I will be an exhibitor for that prize; the 

 scales will 

 then be the 

 only judge 

 wanted. I 

 will also show 

 the same six 

 cows for qual- 

 ity also for 

 butter, sepa- 

 rately. Now, 

 sir, you have a 

 chance of 

 proving all 

 you have said 

 so highly fa- 

 vorable to 

 Shorthorns JOHN D. GILLETTE, ELKHART, ILL. 



and you must 



admit that the course you have taken in puffing 

 them in our "State Journal" will tend to bring 

 the Society into disrepute. Every judge the So- 

 ciety selects reads these puffs and many of them 

 are much guided by them in their decisions. 



Your remarks on Mr. L. C. Morris's bulls, 

 Balco and Marquis of Carabus, extolling both 

 bulls to the highest pitch of eminence (in your 

 opinion ) in the State Society's "Journal," a pa- 

 per destined to be the organ of the Society, is 

 also very ruinous. Both these bulls were, in 



