648 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



steers, and when fat they also turn out a heavy carcass of l^eef, of fully 

 as good quality as the Short-Horns. Yet, they lack early maturity. 



XI. Some Pacts About Beef. 



The breeder for utility, from a purely practical stand point, wants ani- 

 mals that will bring the largest return in dollars and cents. A steer that 

 loads with mere fat, instead of muscle, will not bring so much as the 

 one which turns out more meat and less fat. So, again, the steer whose 

 flesh is marbled throughout with fjitty tissue will bring a higher price for 

 beef than one all lean in the lean parts, and all fat in the fat parts. 

 Hence, m estimating the possible profits in breeding for beef, one must 

 know how the animal will cut up when killed. As a rule the smooth 

 steer Avill "kill better" than a patchy one, or one with lumps or patches 

 of fat over the surface. An animal will not marble Avith fat until it is 

 mature, neither will it take on fat largely, while in a growing state. 

 Hence, the value of early maturity, and the importance of knowing those 

 breeds, or families of a breed, which mature earliest. The Short-Horns 

 have somewhat the advantage of the Herefords in early maturity, while 

 the Herefords have the advantage of the Short-Horns in the quality of 

 their flesh. The Devons mature still later than either, but their "butch- 

 ers' proof" is better. The Galloways mature between the Hereford and 

 Devon in point of time, and their flesh is ccrtainl}^ excellent. Those ani- 

 mals which mature earliest are, as a rule, not so excellent in the quality 

 of the flesh as later-maturing ones. Hence, in England, the Highland 

 cattle bring the highest price per pound of any, and in the United States 

 the Devons ought to. 



XII. Value of Sires in Different Herds. 



The average farmer cannot pay the exti*avagant prices demanded for 

 the highest-caste animals of a pure breed. These, however necessary to 

 the special breeder, are not so to the general breeder, or to the farmer 

 who breeds simply for beef or for milk. The farmer wants animals hav- 

 ing thick flesh and good feeding qualities, with constitutional vigor, from 

 which to breed beef cattle ; and when milk is an object the animals from 

 which he breeds should also be known to possess high milking qualities. 

 Ir. ill one case it is the flesh that pays, in the other the udder. 



To ra3 breeder of a particular strain, an animal containing certain val- 

 uable pc'nts might be worth many thousands of dollars in his herd, while 

 to the farmer the value of the same animal Avould be counted by hundreds 

 of dollars only. In fact, that particular animal might not be worth as 

 much to the farmer as another that might be bought for $100. In respect 

 to milking qualltieSj a certain bull might be worth $1,000 to the breeder 



