Chapter XLVII. 



HINTS ON SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGE- 

 MENT OF CATTLE. 



As already noted in the summary of .part second, we have consid- 

 ered the breeds of cattle under three heads dairy, general-purpose and 

 beef. Each of the known families of cattle must be classed under one 

 of these divisions, and for whatever purpose bred, will all be subject to 

 the same general principles of care and handling. 



In these days of specialists and "experts," even the breeders of 

 stock have caught the contagion, and lines are drawn so closely between 

 dairy and beef types, that it is an absolute necessity to refer to some 

 intermediate class the many breeds which are valuable in both extremes, 

 but supreme in neither. Cattle are no longer chosen entirely with ref- 

 erence to size, weight and rounded contour ; but the peculiar qualities 

 of each animal are as carefully estimated, and for these qualities the 

 animal as quickly appropriated to satisfy some taste or special judg- 

 ment, as any other commodity, subject to the inevitable law of supply 

 and demand. There is ample room for every improved breed of cattle, 

 which has been, or in the future may be, established ; and we have 

 little patience with such narrow views as prompt a breeder to decry all 

 other breeds but his. To advance one's interests by setting forth the 

 good qualities of his wares is perfectly legitimate; but to attempt to 

 advance one breed by tearing down another is pernicious, and will 

 sooner or later destroy public confidence, not only in the men, but also 

 in the breed they champion so unwisely. 



In deciding the question as to which breed will prove most profit- 

 able, a man must be governed largely by : (i) The natural conditions 

 of soil and climate ; (2) nearness to market or shipping facilities ; (3) 

 the relative cost of outfits and materials for carrying on the different 

 lines of work ; (4) the cost and scarcity or abundance of competent 

 labor; (5) the probabilities of fluctuation in market value, or the rela- 

 tive cost of holding over to meet a more favorable market ; and (6), most 

 important of all, the peculiar fitness of the man, either by natural 

 ability, taste or education, for one of the special lines of work to which 

 the various breeds are severally adapted. 



It will thus be seen how impracticable it is to give advice on selec- 

 tion of the "best" breed, and how utterly worthless such advice must be 



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