HISTOKY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



261 



& Reynolds, of New Mexico, was published 

 during the show week, stating that the Here- 

 fords were giving the best satisfaction. A few 

 weeks previous to this, the "National Live 

 Stock Journal" said that on a careful inquiry 

 among a large number of cattlemen from the 

 plains they found the Herefords were giving 

 the best satisfaction; and still Shorthorn breed- 

 ers reported and Shorthorn journals circulated 

 that the Herefords were being rejected. 



But to return to Mr. Anderson. His state- 

 ment is made here as though there was no 

 question as to the truth of what he is saying. 

 Mr. Miller never purchased a Shorthorn cow 

 and never bred a Hereford bull to a Shorthorn 

 cow, and there was no cow on his place that 

 had the appearance of a Shorthorn. 



The dam of "Conqueror" was a grade cow, 

 bought of Mr. E. Parsons, of Pittsfield, Ohio, 

 seven years previous to this time. While we 

 never knew or inquired how this cow was bred, 

 her appearance would' indicate some Devon 

 blood. 



We wrote to Mr. George W. Probert, of Pitts- 

 field, who negotiated the purchase of the cow, 

 to call on Mr. Parsons and ascertain, if he 

 could, how the cow was bred. This letter was 

 written on March 11, 1881; he replied on the 

 16th of March, as follows: 



"I saw Mr. Parsons to-day. He says the cow 

 with the white face and upturned horn (dam 

 of 'Conqueror') was sired by 'Fairboy' (4574) 

 475, Mr. Parsons' old Hereford bull, bred by 

 T. Aston, formerly of Elyria, Ohio. Her dam 

 was sired by a Devon bull, said to be near full 

 blood; her grandam was sired by a Hereford 

 bull and out of a common cow of unknown 

 breeding." 



The ages and breeding of our other steers 

 were attacked. Of the four grade two-year-old 

 steers that we showed, "Putnam," "Rob Roy," 

 "Bachelor" and "Conqueror," in 1880 : "Put- 

 nam" was shown in 1879, weighing 1,152 

 pounds; "Conqueror" was estimated at that 

 time to have weighed about 1,000 pounds. He 

 had up to this time run in the yard, with fair, 

 generous keep, but not crowded; and was, as 

 our recollection serves us, a younger steer than 

 "Putnam," and "Putnam" had been registered 

 as July 12, 1878. 



The steer "Kansas" was bought in Kansas, no 

 account taken of his breeding, as he was not 

 intended as a show steer. When we returned 

 from England in October we found that Mr. 

 Watson had put him up to feed. This was 

 done the week before the State Fair, as he in- 

 formed us. The only facts we had as to age 

 was his mouth, and that showed him to be one 



year old; his two-year-old teeth came in De- 

 cember. While a bullock may show by his 

 mouth an older age than his actual age, we 

 believe that in no instance does the bullock 

 carry a younger mouth than the actual age 

 would warrant. 



The following letter, copied from the "Cor- 

 respondence" columns of the Kansas City 

 "Commercial Indicator," was written in answer 

 to other claims made by T. C. Anderson, from 

 the breeder of the steer "Kansas," and states 

 that he was calved in December, 1878, which 

 agreed with the time his two-year-old teeth 

 came: 



Irving, Marshall Co., Kan. 

 Jan. 9, 1882. 



Your correspondent, Mr. T. C. Anderson, 

 still endeavors to- impress upon the mind the 

 idea that it is given him to expose fraud, and 

 especially the imaginary fraud of T. L. Miller. 

 Now, as I understand the matter, the charge 

 against Mr. Miller is that he does not give the 

 breeding and age of the steer "Kansas." In or- 

 der that Mr. Anderson may be gratified and the 

 public correctly informed, will say that we bred 

 and raised the steer "Kansas," and sold him to 

 Mr. T. L. Miller. We will therefore give his 

 breeding and age. The sire of "Kansas" is a 

 thoroughbred Hereford bull; his dam was a 

 red and white spotted cow. We should judge 

 from color, horns, build and weight, that she 

 was a cross between the native and Texas; she 

 was about six years old at this time. The steer 

 (Kansas) was calved in December, 1878, and 

 judging from the quality of the cow, we did not 

 consider a calf from 

 her desirable to 

 keep for a grade 

 bull, and we there- 

 fore castrated him 

 at an early age. He 

 thrived well with 

 fine promise. The 

 cow being farrow, 

 I shipped her to 

 Kansas City in the 

 summer of 1880, 

 with a car load of 

 cattle, and she was 

 sold as a cull for 

 $1.75 per 100 Ibs., 

 and weighed 850 

 Ibs. Judging from the quality of the dam and 

 the outcome of the steer, it is fair to conclude 

 that the merit he possesses was derived from 

 his Hereford blood. 



It appears to 'exercise the Shorthorn mind 

 that a grade Hereford steer from Kansas, with 



JOHN MORRIS. 



Of Lulham, Herefordshire. 



