HISTOEY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



265 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



THE "BREEDERS' JOURNAL" ON THE CHICAGO FAT STOCK SHOW OF 1880 



\Vc find in the "Breeders' Journal" the fol- 

 lowing editorial : 



(1J 189) The Fat Stock Show (1880), held 

 in Chicago, was in many respects one of the 

 best exhibits of stock ever held in this country. 

 This show is held under the management of 

 the Illinois State Board of Agriculture. The 

 Board is composed of nineteen members, one 

 from each of the Congressional Districts of the 

 state, and, with few exceptions, they are Short- 

 horn breeders. 



The time is not far in the past when the 

 Shorthorn breeders had no one to dispute the 

 claims of their breed. The Society's plans were 

 made, so far as the cattle department was con- 

 cerned, with the express reference to the ad- 

 justment of the claims among the different 

 families of Shorthorns and of their different 

 owners. It is yet difficult for them to get away 

 from their preconceived notions and prefer- 

 ences. Not only is it difficult, but with many 

 there is a determined purpose not to depart 

 from them, probably from the fact that they 

 conceive their breed to be the best, and that 

 they must stand guard over them and protect 

 them from the claims that the Herefords are 

 'making upon the position that they have held. 

 That this is so is not surprising. In the past 

 there was none to dispute their claims, and 

 many think now that those who dispute them 

 should be treated as heretics were in the olden 

 times. 



It has been the practice in times past at the 

 winter meetings to appoint judges for the dif- 

 ferent classes. These judges seldom acted, and 

 their places were filled from among the visitors 

 on the grounds, sometimes a good selection, but 

 often the contrary. 



At the inauguration of the Fat Stock Show 

 the selection has been made by each member 

 of the Board nominating one or more of the 

 butchers in his district, and from these the 

 Board select their judges. These butchers have 

 a country experience; as a rule they do not 

 slaughter or cut first-class beef or mutton. It 



is such as is quoted as "butcher's stock" in the 

 Chicago markets. This stock ranges in price 

 from two cents to three cents at the present 

 time for live" weight, while good shipping steers 

 will range from $3.50 to $5 per hundred, and 

 choice shipping steers from $5.25 to $6.50 per 

 hundred. This latter class comes near the 

 quality that is shown at the Fat Stock Show, 

 and is always in demand at the long price. It 

 is not such a quality as their trade demands. 

 It is not such 'as they are acquainted with or 

 want. Preferring the "butcher's stock," they 

 are not prepared to give their judgment as to 

 the best shipping grades. These judges are 

 selected largely from districts in which Short- 

 horns have held for years the dominant posi- 

 tion, and the parties selecting them are Short- 

 horn breeders; they are likely to be friends of 

 the members selecting them; the members' 

 friends are the exhibitors of Shorthorns, and 

 without charging dishonesty, it is fair to pre- 

 sume that their associations lead them to give 

 the preference to Shorthorns. This, then, is 

 the feature of the present system of judging. 

 The judges are selected by Shorthorn breeders 

 from the districts where the Shorthorns are 

 dominant. They butcher only Shorthorns and 

 their crosses, and their experience is in butcher- 

 ing what is technically termed "butcher's 

 stock." They are not acquainted with shipping 

 steers and their value. Two members of the 

 Board reside in Chicago, but for some reason 

 there were no Chicago butchers selected. 

 Among these Chicago butchers are those who 

 have a knowledge of the wants of our best 

 markets, and those of England as well, and are 

 therefore better able to judge as to the value 

 of a first-class animal. These men have slaugh- 

 tered and cut animals from every breed, while 

 the judges selected have never cut a Hereford. 



There is one feature, however, in the ex- 

 perience of the city butchers of large practice; 

 they know the comparative value of other 

 breeds with the Shorthorns. 



It may seem a singular fact to outsiders, per- 



