BABY BEEF 217 



blocky, compact form which is typical only of the 

 beef breeds, or typical in a marked degree only in 

 animals having a large preponderance of clearly 

 defined beef type. The Aberdeen-Angus is un- 

 questionably the one breed best suited to the pro- 

 duction of baby beef animals. In conformation and 

 type, this breed corresponds most nearly to the 

 ideal, and its early maturing characteristics make 

 it especially desirable for the feeding and finishing 

 of young animals. Calves showing a large per- 

 centage of Hereford or Shorthorn blood also make 

 excellent feeders. Frequently the dual-purpose 

 type will finish very smoothly, while the dairy 

 breeds have the least adaptation to this use, al- 

 though large numbers of them are annually finished 

 for the baby beef market. 



SOURCES OF STOCK 



The closing out of many of the large cattle 

 ranches of the West in recent years has thrown upon 

 the markets large numbers of high-grade range cows 

 with calves following them. This stock is usually 

 marketed in late summer after having had the 

 benefit of the best summer grass available upon 

 the range, and are usually in excellent condition. 

 The calves will be found thrifty and of large frame 

 and good feeding capacity and average, perhaps, 400 

 pounds in weight. This class of cattle is placed 

 upon the market when the calves are at the proper 

 age for w r eaning, and many thousands of them have 

 been purchased by the middle western farmers to 

 be finished for baby beef. The cumulative effect of 

 30 years or more of pure-bred sires upon the west- 

 ern ranges shows itself in the high-class cross-bred 

 Herefords and Shorthorns which are now yearly 

 offered in the markets of Chicago, Kansas City and 



