BREEDS OF BEEF CATTLE IX UNITED STATES 221 



BREEDS OF BEEF CATTLE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



(A series of articles which appeared in The Pastoral Review last 



year, from their U.S.A. correspondent.) 



Shorthorns. 



The decrease in the number of beef animals in the United 

 States, with the resulting high i)rices which have prevailed 

 during recent years, has caused greater interest to be taken in 

 this industry, and many men who have never raised beef cattle 

 in the past are taking up this line of work. 



The breeds of beef cattle in the United States are the Short- 

 horn, Polled Durham, Hereford, Aberdeen-Angus, and Gallo- 

 way. Each of these breeds has been carefully developed for a 

 long period of year's, with the result that individuals transmit 

 their characters very readily when bred to native or scrub cattle. 



The Shorthorn is the most popular of the beef breeds in the 

 United States, as shown by their numbers and by their general 

 distribution over all parts of the country. They have a great 

 range of adaptability and do well everywhere. The milking 

 qualities, combined with tl e high standard as a beef animal and 

 the gentle disposition, have caused the Shorthorn cow to be 

 termed "the farmer's cow" in the United States. The merit of 

 the breed has been proved on the ranges of the west, where the 

 bulls have been used for grading up the scrub cattle of the plains. 

 The Shorthorn crosses well with other breeds or with the scrub 

 cattle, producing from scrub cowls calves wdiich develop into 

 fairly desirable beef cattle. The grazing ability of the Shorthorn 

 is not so good as that of some of the other breeds, but where 

 grasses are abundant and feeds are plentiful there is no breed 

 which will surpass it for beef production. The large milk tlow 

 insure a good calf. However, the cows have been criticised to a 

 certain extent by western ranchmen because the large milk flow 

 causes many of them to lose a teat or a portion of the udder, as 

 the calves cannot always take all of the milk. The steers sell 

 readily as feeders, and although they have not won as readily as 

 the Aberdeen-Angus in the show ring, they produce \cry high- 

 class beef, with the thick loin am,! full hindquarter which furnish 

 profitable cuts. 



The three important strains of Shorthorn cattle have been the 

 Booth, the Bates, and the Scotch tribes. The Booth and Scotch 

 strains represent the true beef type of Shorthorns, while the 



