466 



HISTOKY OF HEBEFQBD CATTLE 



W. S. IKARD, 

 Henrietta, Tex. 



that the Herefords were an important element 

 in the eattle interest of Kentucky from 181? to 

 1840, and you will find men now living that 

 will recognize this fact. You will find another 

 fact: that the Kentucky reputation for good 

 cattle is based more upon the Seventeens than 

 upon the Bates, Dukes and Duchesses, and when 

 the latter are forgotten this will be your boast. 

 One of your prominent breeders told me in 

 Kansas City several years ago that he knew the 

 Duke bulls were damaging the character of the 



Shorthorn cattle, 



but they could not 

 sell any others to a 

 profit. Further- 

 more, there are 

 none of your best 

 breeders but know 

 that Kentucky cat- 

 tle are poorer for 

 having used this 

 blood. 



What you say of 

 Mr. Goddard will 

 be said of many of 

 your best breeders. 

 They can take the 

 Seventeens and 

 make a breed or 

 family that will top all other families of Short- 

 horns in the state. 



After you have investigated the cattle his- 

 tory of Kentucky from 1817 to 1840 turn your 

 attention to the operations of the breeders in 

 England, at the time they took possession of 

 the machinery of the Society for the Diffusion 

 of Useful Knowledge, and notice with what tact 

 they obtained the endorsement of that society 

 for their breed. Eev. Mr. Berry might have 

 written over his own signature and in his own 

 name the history of the Shorthorns and the 

 history of other breeds of English cattle but 

 that would not have appeared well. He there- 

 fore obtained the appointment of Mr. Youatt, 

 a scholarly gentleman of that period, to write 

 their history at his (Kev. Henry Berry's) dicta- 

 tion. 



Will there be any question but that the Eev. 

 Henry Berry supervised the writing of the his- 

 tory of other breeds of English cattle that ap- 

 pear in the same volume, "Youatt on British 

 Cattle" ? If you should have any doubt on this 

 point after a careful investigation I should be 

 pleased to enter upon this study with you. 



After a careful study of Youatt and his his- 

 tory, I would recommend to you a careful ex- 

 amination as to the organization of the Royal 

 Agricultural Society of England in 1839. You 



will there find that some of the Shorthorn 

 breeders used some of the best and most noble 

 of England's nobility and gentry for the en- 

 dorsement of that breed, known then by the 

 name of the Shorthorn or Durham breed of cat- 

 tle; while the breeders and advocates of this 

 breed were the judges and committeemen who 

 managed the awards and you will find that the 

 press published these awards on the report of 

 these judges and of these committeemen. 



You will find that your State Societies were 

 under the same sort of management, and you 

 may look into the history of the Herefords and 

 Shorthorns in 1834, at which time Youatt 

 wrote, and you will find that at the public sales 

 of blooded stock and butcher's stock in Eng- 

 land, the Hereford sold at longer prices usually 

 than the Shorthorn. 



You may then go to the records of the Smith- 

 field Society and you will find on the records 

 of that Society that the Herefords and Short- 

 horns were competing, and that up to 1834 the 

 Hereford oxen and steers had taken eighty- 

 five premiums amounting to 1,295 pounds 

 sterling ($6,475), while the Shorthorns had 

 taken thirty-two premiums, amounting to 585 

 pounds sterling ($2,925). This showing was 

 a matter of record in London at the time Prof. 

 Youatt was writing. 



In the history of the Herefords Prof. Youatt 

 gives one experiment of the feeding of three 

 Shorthorns and three Herefords, showing 

 about thirty per cent in favor of Herefords. 

 He gives seven pages or more to the report of 

 sales of Shorthorns, and no account of the 

 sales of Herefords, while .he might have had 

 access to the records of such sales. 



He gives two pages (312-313) to quoting 

 the Duke of Bedford's experiment of feeding 

 different breeds of cattle, but as far as Here- 

 fords or Shorthorns are concerned, he says: 

 "Although the Herefords are now established 

 at Woburn . . ." and in a foot note adds : 

 "To the many records of experiments on the 

 comparative fattening qualities of the Hereford 

 and Durham cattle, we will not now refer. One, 

 although not then assigned to its proper author, 

 the present Duke of Bedford, was detailed on 

 page 34 of this work. We will content our- 

 selves with referring to that. The patrons of 

 the Shorthorns, however, have not considered it 

 altogether satisfactory in its details." 



This is disposing of the Duke of Bedford's 

 experiments as a historian has no right to do. 

 Will anyone doubt that if these experiments 

 had resulted in favor of the Durham, they 

 would have found a place in this "History of 

 British Cattle?" 



