HISTOEY OF HEEEPORD CATTLE 



511 



none bred the other way, or the calf would 

 come red with white face. Our grade Herefords 

 were bred from all kinds of native cows, with a 

 thoroughbred Hereford bull for sire. On this 

 subject we quote from the "Mark Lane Ex- 

 press" as follows : 



"The 'Breeders' Gazette' (Chicago), a jour- 

 nal which appears to be laying itself out as far 

 as possible to further the interests' of Shorthorn 

 breeders and fanciers, admits that the Here- 

 fords come nearer 'dividing the honors as beef 

 producers with the Shorthorns than any other 

 breed in America.' This is pretty well from 

 the 'Breeder's Gazette/ especially when it is 

 seldom contended by even the warmest par- 

 tisans of the Shorthorn breed in this country 

 that Shorthorns excel the Herefords purely as 

 beef producers. However, the 'Gazette' goes 

 on to say: 'They (the Herefords) are an old 

 and well established breed, and have long been 

 known in this country; but it has only been 

 within the past six years that they may fairly 

 be said to have made any material advances in 

 popular favor. Since then, however, the de- 

 mand for improved bulls, for use in the vast 

 herds on our western plains, has led to the 

 extensive use of the Herefords, and so far as we 

 have heard an expression of opinion, with most 

 excellent results. Certainly the demand during 

 the past three years has been largely in excess 

 of the supply, and prices have risen materially. 

 Within two years past the importation from 

 Great Britain, notwithstanding the hindrances 

 of an expensive quarantine, have very greatly 

 exceeded the sum total of importations to this 

 country previous to that date, and there is no 

 perceptible falling off in the demand for them 

 by our ranchmen. Their great merit as grazing 

 beasts is unquestioned. That they possess great 

 hardiness is clearly evidenced by their heavy 

 shoulders, well sprung ribs and general 

 make-up. As a rule, there is no breed of cat- 

 tle extant the structure of which more clearly 

 indicates strong vital organs than the Here- 

 fords. The breeders of Herefords in this coun- 

 try have manifested much spirit for several 

 years past in pushing the claims of these cattle 

 to the front, and have undoubtedly met with a 

 good share of success at our Fat Stock Shows. 

 It has been frequently alleged that the excel- 

 lence which has characterized the animals shown 

 as Hereford grades heretofore was due largely 

 to the admixture of Shorthorn blood — that, as 

 a rule, they have not been any more properly 

 grade -Herefords than grade Shorthorns, and 

 that they might as well have been shown in the 

 one class as the other. The Hereford breeders 

 have accepted the issue, and have declared their 



determination to make a bold stand and face 

 the music hereafter with purely bred Here- 

 fords at our Fat Stock Shows.' " 



Commenting on which the "Mark Lane Ex- 

 press" said : 



"No doubt the Hereford men will be able to 

 'face the music' with butchers as judges ; we 

 shall see when the time comes. Meantime, we 

 do not clearly understand the sense in which an 

 animal called a grade Hereford could be with 

 equal correctness described as a grade Short- 

 horn. We can very well understand that an 

 animal which has any proportion of Shorthorn 

 blood in its veins, whether much or little, would 

 have its merit — should it possess any — ascribed 

 to the admixture of Shorthorn blood, by par- 

 tisans who are blind to everything but their 

 own hobby ; but whether such merit could be so 

 claimed or not, there should be no question as 

 to whether any particular animal was a grade 

 of one breed or that of another. If the sire was 

 of one breed and the dam of the other, the off- 

 spring would not be a grade but a cross-bred. 

 We cannot tell what the word grade may be 

 understood ■ to cover, as used in the L^nited 

 States, and it is not used at all in this country ; 

 but we should take it to mean a step, or one of 

 a series of steps, in remove from a thorough- 

 bred sire out of a mongrel dam. The question, 

 then, is simply whether these animals at the 

 Chicago show were sired by Hereford or by 

 Shorthorn bulls. If, as we have already stated, 

 they were from pure bred sire and dam of dif- 

 ferent breeds, then they were crosses and not 

 grades; and if the sire was a 'grade,' the off- 

 spring would clearly class as a grade of the 

 breed represented by the sire. As for the merit, 

 let both parties claim it, but there should be 

 no sort of question as to the classification. At 

 our Fat Stock Shows cross-bred, grade and 

 mongrel animals are all classed together as 

 'crossed or mixed bred,' a very unsatisfactory 

 arrangement to our thinking ; nevertheless it 

 covers the whole ground, which the term 'grade' 

 used alone evidently does not." 



In closing this chapter we give an extract 

 from the "Breeders' Journal" for June, 1883, 

 written just prior to our departure for England 

 to purchase an addition to our Hereford herd. 



"We are glad to have an opportunity to reply 

 to Mr. Sanders and Mr. Moninger's defense. 

 We shall be absent for some months, and should 

 anything come up in reference to this matter, 

 and there is a delay to notice it, it must be 

 attributed to this reason. It would be well for 

 the 'Breeders' Gazette' to explain somewhat in 

 reference to the teeth indications of age. Mr. 

 Sanders claims to be the pioneer live stock 



