182 



HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



breed, practically; therefore, if you have faith 

 in taking the most part of them at half value, 

 and will get an endorser for the amount, you 

 shall take them. You may make the papers 

 to suit your time. I will keep three heifers, the 

 cow Victoria and a bull, to show that I am still 

 a believer in them. You may take the bulk of 

 the herd, and if you do I sincerely hope you will 

 be successful." This seemed to me a most rea- 

 sonable, kind and valuable offer for me, but I 

 felt that the little capital I had in them was 

 gone in our, wreck at sea, and how to get a 



J. M. STUDEBAKER, SOUTH BEND, IND. 



(Member Organization Committee, American Hereford 



Cattle Breeders' Association.) 



farm to support them upon was an important 

 consideration. However, I secured an endorser 

 and a farm at Black Rock, near Buffalo, and 

 took the herd there. 



* * * 



PART II. 



From my early boyhood I had an exceedingly 

 high opinion of the Hereford cattle, and have 

 since that time been a strong and staunch advo- 

 cate for them, and think I can fully support 

 all I have said. The uniformity of their char- 

 acter, the superiority of their flesh, combined 

 with rich milking and substance of body, 

 induced me to patronize them to the best of my 

 ability. 



My frequent visits to the herds of Messrs. 

 Hewer of Northleach, Gloucestershire, England, 

 in an early day, gave me an opportunity of see- 

 ing some good ones bred by them. Mr. Win. 

 Hewer, Sr., Wm. Hewer, Jr., and Joseph Hewer, 

 the father and two sons, did all in their power 

 to outvie with each other, and each tried his 

 utmost to get at the pinnacle of good breeding. 

 They were as earnest in excelling each other as 

 opposite breeders. All were practical men of 

 good, common sense. Their herds originated 

 from that well-known breeder, Mr. John Hewer 

 of Herefordshire. If either procured a very su- 

 perior bull, each derived the benefit and each 

 bred him at pleasure. 



They studied together the improvement each 

 animal made, and vice versa the defects, and 

 by their combined good judgment none excelled 

 them in good breeding. This prosperous course 

 of rivalry was pleasant and instructive, and ren- 

 dered superior aid in arriving at superior judg- 

 ment, without which no man can become a 

 proper breeder. The Messrs. Hewer's Hereford 

 cattle and Cotswold sheep obtained as high a 

 stand as any in England, and by which all 

 became wealthy, derived from their practical 

 knowledge of a superior animal and the coup- 

 ling of male and female. (If 88) 



Much care and attention are required in the 

 effect of improvement, and can only be obtained 

 gradually. Skill in the advancement is inherent, 

 which cannot be learnt by lessons or lectures 

 or by professional theoretical novices. The re- 

 sult must be practically satisfactory to enable 

 you to pursue with confidence ; without this you 

 cannot succeed. He who trusts to the opinion 

 of others will never make a breeder. Results 

 from his own experience must be his guide, and 

 when a breeder arrives at the highest point of 

 excellence, his name spread far and wide, it is 

 a very difficult matter to keep there. Prosperity 

 is apt to make men careless and consequential, 

 which is almost certain to create degeneration, 

 and when this takes place the downward strides 

 are long and rapid. 



The Messrs. Hewer made vast improvements 

 in the Hereford cattle and Cotswold sheep. The 

 senior held his fame and his untarnished repu- 

 tation until his death ; Wm. Hewer, Jr., until he 

 retired; but Joseph was taken away in his early 

 career, by jumping into the water to save a 

 favorite ram when he was saturated with per- 

 spiration in his haste to arrive. He, in his 

 usefulness, left a fine herd of Herefords and 

 Cotswolds to be divided. The Hereford cattle 

 and Cotswold sheep of my first importation were 

 derived from the Messrs. Hewer, with the ex- 

 ception of the first-prize Hereford cow I pur- 



