A HISTORY OF SHORTHORNS IN KANSAS 493 



them and letting them go, in most cases where 

 they were lost to the breed, he would have sub- 

 stantially advanced his interests as a breeder. 



When I think back over the great array of 

 cows and heifers that have been sold from this 

 herd, that if retained would have given material 

 such as few breeders ever gather together, I am 

 inclined to state as my best judgment that had 

 Mr. Hill's make-up been such as to exclude com- 

 mercialism, the Sycamore Springs herd would 

 stand today with few rivals. I do not question 

 his success as a breeder for not many men in 

 Kansas can show results such as he has shown. I 

 am only thinking that selling such cows as Syca- 

 more Secret, Collynie Violet, Sweet Mistletoe 

 and others I could mention, and pricing his best 

 young cows and heifers only to have them taken 

 off the farm, may be good business but it certain- 

 ly has limited his possibilities as a breeder. 



Mr. Hill, while enthusiastic for Shorthorns, is 

 also a leader in all things pertaining to rural life. 

 He is a farmer in the larger sense. He is presi- 

 dent of the County Farm Bureau arid always the 

 right hand man of the county agent. His activ- 

 ities extend to everything in which his commun- 

 ity and his county and his neighboring counties 

 are interested. Fourteen years of quite intimate 

 acquaintance justifies the assertion that south- 

 east Kansas could ill spare Howard M. Hill and 

 his fine family. 



