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HISTOKY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



and his business. These, I understand, only in 

 outline. My first knowledge of Mr. Watson 

 was the receipt of the following letter: 



T. L. Miller. Dear Sir : I always read with 

 interest your articles regarding the Herefords, 

 a breed I had a great deal to do with in Aus- 

 tralia. They would live and grow fat where 

 Shorthorns would starve, and at times we had 

 journeys of 2,000 miles to drive to Melbourne 

 market. The percentage of death among Short- 



1T222A 



B. ROGERS, "THE GROVE," HEREFORDSHIRE. 

 Breeder of "The Grove 3d," sold for 17,000. 



horns used to be enormous on a long journey, 

 while the Herefords used to go right through, 

 almost as fresh as when thev started. 



I take the "North British Agriculturist." I 

 clip from the number of June 12th an account 

 of the Bath and West of England Show, where 

 you will see the Herefords came off gloriously 

 victorious, winning the challenge cups over the 

 Shorthorns in bulls and cows. They have beat 

 the crack Shorthorns of the day. 



WM. WATSON. 



After this he met me at the Fat Stock Show 

 in 1879, and made application for the position 

 of herdsman. I engaged him. Soon reports 

 came to me of his habits. I brought these re- 

 ports to him ; he denied them. I said to him, 

 "Whatever may have been your past, can I 

 depend upon you for the future ?" He assured 

 me that I could. I tried him. His old habits 

 proved too strong for him. I talked to him 



and he promised reformation. One who has 

 a desire, might feel proud to lift such a man 

 from the vice of intemperance to manhood. 



On my second visit to England, taking my 

 wife with me, I put Mrs. Watson into my house 

 as housekeeper, and him to take the waiting on 

 the table, as carver, etc., hoping thus to keep a 

 restraint upon him, coining three times a day to 

 the table, but it lasted hardly ten days, before 

 he got two of my most trusted young men into 

 a quarrel in a saloon, and this was the last of 

 restraint. 



On my return from England in October, I 

 said to Mr. Watson that hereafter I must run 

 my business without whiskey, and he assented. 

 Our supervisors had refused licenses, and our 

 saloons were closed. I earnestly hoped by this 

 help to keep him from whiskey; but he would 

 contribute, and have the hands contribute, and 

 buy by the gallon, and have it on the place; 

 while assenting to my plans, and professing to 

 work with me, he was really against me. In 

 this unfortunate condition the Shorthorn con- 

 spirators found him a willing tool for their 

 work. 



In the fall of 1878 one of the conspirators 

 was an exhibitor of Shorthorns at Minneapolis. 

 Col. W. S. King had the management of this 

 show and had taken special pains to get com- 

 petent and reputable judges ; among them were 

 Geo. Murray, of Racine, Wis., and also another 

 man in whom Col. King had great confidence, 

 who was a cattle buyer of Minneapolis, and 

 another, a Shorthorn breeder of Iowa. The 

 committee were entirely unknown to me, but 

 their manner of judging in classes showed an 

 intelligent knowledge of their business. I was 

 willing to accept them for the sweepstakes 

 judges. The Shorthorn conspirators objected, 

 and Mr. Geo. Murray, one of the most rep- 

 utable of Shorthorn breeders in the country 

 was ruled off. A Mr. , then of Mil- 

 waukee, later of Minneapolis, was named to 

 fill his place. When the question was put to 

 him whether he had any interest in Shorthorns, 

 he replied "yes," he was a Shorthorn breeder. 

 Can you judge impartially as between Short- 

 horns and Herefords? No, did not think he 

 could. He was excused. Another man who 

 was not interested in Shorthorns was named; 

 he could judge fairly as between Shorthorns 

 and Herefords; had no interest or prejudice 

 that would interfere with impartial judging. 

 He was a horseman, and retained. The judges 

 gave the first to the Shorthorns, the second to 

 my Herefords. The first prize herd had no 

 right to the premium, whether as compared 

 with my herd or other Shorthorn herds. 



