510 



HISTORY OF HEEEFORD CATTLE 



"Of which the 'Breeders' Gazette' says: 

 .'The allowance of 50 pounds shrinkage from 

 show weight will be generally regarded as none 

 too large, especially in view of the fact that the 

 champion Horeford steer imported Sir Rich- 

 ard's shrinkage, as we are informed, was 75 

 pounds. The statement of Mr. Duddleston de- 

 rives additional weight from the fact that he 

 has a decided preference, as a rule, for Here- 

 ford cattle, and his experience as a butcher is 

 such as to render his clearly expressed opinion 

 as to the age of the steers worthy of some 

 credence.' 



"Mr. Miller obtained the teeth of the steers 

 from Mr. Duddleston. Mr. Moninger makes 

 affidavit as to the age of the steers, but does 

 not show or explain how a steer at two years old 

 can grow eight teeth; neither does he explain 

 how Tom Brown at three years old could grow 

 eight teeth, while the first was entitled to only 

 four and the latter to six. As to the net to 

 live weight as given by Mr. Duddleston it is 

 foreign to the questions at issue. It will be 

 remembered that the steers had lived something 

 over one month from the time they were 

 weighed; that they ought to have gained 75 

 pounds instead of shrinking 50. But this is 

 immaterial. Mr. Duddleston's opinion may be 

 valuable, but it would seem to us that Mr. 

 Moninger is bringing to his aid very weak sup- 

 port. We had hoped to see Mr. Duddleston, 

 but have not been able to inquire as to who 

 sought his affidavit and how he could reconcile 

 the fact that these steers carried a full mouth 

 of eight teeth at the age they were represented 

 to be. Not seeing him, we have written him a 

 line, and may be able to give his answer next 

 month. We have received a letter from a 

 responsible party and have had it in our pos- 

 session for some time, waiting for some testi- 

 mony from Moninger. The letter is as follows : 



" 'Feb. 22, 1883. 

 " 'T. L. Miller, Esq. 



" 'Dear Sir : I attended a farmer's sale of 

 stock, etc., to-day, and while there -was engaged 

 in conversation with three gentlemen with 

 whom I am well acquainted. Two of them are 

 breeders of Shorthorn cattle, and the other a 

 large feeder of cattle. The conversation turned 

 upon yourself and your cattle, when one of the 

 breeders above referred to said that a man work- 

 ing in his neighborhood who formerly lived in 

 Iowa, near D. M. Moninger, says you are cor- 

 rect about the age of the steer Tom Brown, 

 shown by Moninger last November at the Fat 

 Stock Show. He said this party stated that he 

 knew the steer well, and that his age is about 

 the same as you consider it to be, and that there 



are many persons in the vicinity who know the 

 same thing. Yours truly, 



"'E. W. P.' 



"We are fully satisfied that the proof might 

 be had from several parties as to the ages of the 

 steers exhibited by Mr. Moninger last Novem- 

 ber. Mr. Moninger undoubtedly relied upon 

 having his steers passed through the exhibition 

 without question as to the correctness of his 

 entries, and we have no doubt that the fact 

 that the steers exhibited greater age than they 

 were entered for, and that the dressing would 

 have exposed this, is the reason ,yhy the bul- 

 locks were not dressed at the show. It was 

 well known by the exhibitors at this show, and 

 that of 1881, that the Shorthorn bullocks that 

 were dressed in 1881 showed an age by their 

 mouths largely in excess of that for which 

 they were entered. They knew that the Here- 

 ford exhibitors had these mouths preserved and 

 placed in the hands of the officers of the State 

 Board as an evidence of the fraud as to age. 

 Our persistency in calling attention to these 

 frauds and bringing forward these evidences 

 (for it will be borne in mind that the 

 'Gazette' admits that Mr. Duddleston gave us 

 these teeth) has secured action by the State 

 Board which will prevent any such frauds in the 

 future. We are advised by members of the 

 Board that this rule will be rigidly enforced, 

 to-wit : That all cattle offered for exhibition in 

 1883 will be examined by a competent veteri- 

 nary surgeon and two practical men to deter- 

 mine the ages without reference to the entries. 



"It is now nearly five months from the time 

 these charges were made, before these affidavits 

 were given, and no evidence now beyond what 

 was before the Board and the public on the 

 16th of November. This is not a matter as to 

 whether a Shorthorn exhibitor or a Hereford 

 exhibitor shall be successful at the Show. It 

 is beyond and above this. It is a question as 

 to whether the State Board of Agriculture of 

 Illinois shall publish to the world, under its 

 authority and sanction, data that are based 

 upon an erroneous and incorrect basis." 



GRADES AND CROSSES. The journals that 

 were advocating the lordly Shorthorn could not 

 bear to have the Herefords win a prize, and 

 when they did win with a steer that was the 

 most distantly related to the Shorthorn they 

 claimed all the glory for their breed. 



Strictly speaking, at the date of which we are 

 writing there were very few, if any, cross-bred 

 steers, as we understand the term; that is, a 

 thoroughbred Hereford bull bred to a thorough- 

 bred Shorthorn cow, and there were certainly 



