JUDGING BEEF STOCK FOR BREEDING PURPOSES 73 



1 1 . JUDGING BEEF STOCK FOR BREEDING PURPOSES. 



In judging beef stock for breeding purposes, the breeder 

 must have in view the demands of his own interests, and 

 yet those of the feeder and butcher must also receive due 

 consideration. For this reason the desirable qualities that 

 are sought for in feeding stock, the features that make the 

 animal valuable to the butcher and the attributes that the 

 breeder knows to be of value, must all have proportionate 

 consideration. Those of the feeder's and the butcher's type 

 have been discussed, so that it is required to comment only 

 on the peculiar features that are especially valuable from the 

 breeder's point of view. There are two features of this 

 kind that because of their importance deserve special empha- 

 sis in the judging of breeding stock in the beef classes, and 

 these are the possession of all the evidences of constitution 

 in combination wath deep natural flesh. The breeder to 

 appreciate his work must rely greatly on the constitution of 

 his animals, for it is this that guarantees thrift and vigorous 

 reproduction. 



The other feature of special importance in beef stock is 

 that of natural flesh. Natural flesh means the possession 

 of muscle or red meat witn '.vhich an animal must be born to 

 make a carcass for the butcher's block that is properly 

 mixed in fat and lean. 



There is no feature of more value in the breeding of beef 

 stock than that of having natural flesh characteristic of all 

 animals in the herd, and there is likely no other quality 

 which is transmitted with more certainty than this. 



125. Judging Beef Bulls. In form and condition those 

 qualities which mark the feeder's and butcher's ideal should 

 be strikingly shown in the beef sire. As already mentioned 

 there are two features that require special emphasis, as they 

 are especially valuable in the breeding herd of beef cattle 

 and consequently should be possessed in a marked degree by 

 the head of the herd. Reference is made to constitution and 



