56 BULLETIN 1031^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Most of the bulls in the herd in 1910 were grade Hereford and 

 Shorthorn, with a few pure-bred bulls. All of the Shorthorns were 

 disposed of by 1914. After 1910 more registered Herefords and a 

 few grades were purchased, and since 1915 none but registered Here- 

 fords have been procured. A lot obtained in the fall of 1916 came 

 from breeders in the Panhandle of Texas, but since that time all 

 bulls for the reserve have been purchased from breeders in eastern 

 and central Kansas. Effort has been made to buy slightly better 

 bred bulls each year in order to continue improvement through bulls 

 as well as in selection of cows. 



The best bulls in each lot have been used with the special 500 herd. 

 Plate VI shows a number of the bulls used in this herd in 1918. 

 Twenty head from the first lot of 26 head purchased in Kansas were 

 placed in the herd in 1917. In 1918 the best from a lot of 89 head 

 were selected to replace the poorest ones in the 20 originally placed 

 in the herd. Sixty-eight of the best bulls from a lot of 88 head pur- 

 chased in 1919 were selected for use on the reserve during 1920, and 

 the best of these will be used to replace a few of the poorest in the 

 special herd. 



EESULTS OF THE SELECTION OF COWS AND USE OF GOOD BULLS. 



The results of the selection of breeding cows and the use of good 

 bulls are shown in the offspring. Over 96 per cent of the calves 

 from the special breeding herd since 1915 have had good Hereford 

 color and markings and for the most part good backs, straight tops 

 and underlines, and have shown good beef conformation in general. 

 Yearlings and 2-year-old steers have sold for from $2.50 to $5 more 

 per head than the average in that vicinity, partly on account of im- 

 provement in grade, and fewer steers have been rejected by buyers 

 because of poor grade or lack of uniformity. Plate VII, figures 1 

 and 2, shows the changes in type and grade of steers turned off the 

 reserve following the improved breeding methods. 



The accompanying photograph of yearling heifers (PI. VIII, fig. 

 2), most of which are offspring of the selected herd, shows the grade 

 of animal that is being produced. These heifers at 15 to 16 months 

 of age averaged 534 pounds in weight before watering and after they 

 had been off of feed for 24 hours. They showed much heavier bone, 

 deeper bodies, wider backs, better developed loin and hind quarters 

 than the average of either original herd, and approached more 

 nearly the class of stock desired by the feeder. 



EESELECTION OF HERDS IN 1919. 



The net results from the work in improving the breeding stock 

 from 1915 to 1919, especially the results from the special herd of 

 500 head, were so encouraging that during the summer of 1919, 



