514 



HIST OK Y OF lIEKEFOliD CATTLE 



CHAPTER XLII. 



Mongrel Pedigrees Make Mongrel Breeds; Conclusively 

 Demonstrated on the Range 



In December, 1881, Mr. Geo. W. Eust, 

 (If 363) the eminent Shorthorn historian and 

 authority, wrote an article for the "Breeders' 

 Gazette," Vol. I, page 29, on the Shorthorn 

 Herd Book question, and its relation to the 

 Shorthorn breed of cattle — their merits and de- 

 merits. In January, 1882, in the "Breeders' 

 Journal," Vol. ID, page 43, we quoted from 

 this article that Mr. Rust wrote. Mr. Eust 

 took us to an account for quoting him incor- 

 rectly, and that the matter might be fairly be- 

 fore our readers we quoted Mr. Eust as pub- 

 lished by the "Breeders' Gazette," on page 29, 

 Vol. I, Dec. 8, 1881, as follows: 

 • "The action of the Shorthorn Association at 

 the late Jacksonville convention will commend 

 itself to the great body of breeders, and the 

 more as it comes to be discussed and under- 

 stood. The Kecord of Pedigrees — the. integrity 

 with which it is conducted and the degree of 

 confidence placed upon it — exercises so direct 

 an influence uj)on the prosperity of the breed- 

 ing interest that there can be no questioning 

 the fact that it should be in the hands and 

 thoroughly under the control of the breeders 

 themselves, acting in some associate capacity. 



"The record, as such, should have been insti- 

 tuted in the first instance by them, but through 

 the force of circumstances and the want of 

 proper co-operation, this was not the case. But 

 the interest is now so vast, and has been already 

 so seriously prejudiced, and its extension likely 

 to be so influenced in the future by tiie unfor- 

 tunate conditions surrounding the Pedigree 

 Records, that it is an imperative necessity, that 

 the breeders should take these records under 

 their own control and direction, purely as a 

 matter of self protection, if for no other reason. 



"There are many ways in which the unsatis- 

 factory conditions of the Pedigree Records have 

 ]>rejudiced the interest of breeders, some of 

 which it may be well to enumerate. 



"Through the. lark of systrm and method in 

 the Herd Book (Shorthorn) itself, the editor 



[L. F. Allen, mentioned by Mr. Sotham in his 

 history. Chapter 13 of this volume. — T. L. M.] 

 has been unable to detect and exclude improper 

 pedigrees from record, and in a great many 

 cases his judgment has been warped by his per- 

 sonal interests to admit pedigrees and classes 

 of pedigrees which a disinterested person would 

 probably have excluded. As a result the records 

 have fallen into such shape that none but an 

 expert can tell much about them ; and innumer- 

 able pedigrees of a doubtful character have been 

 given the safiction of a record. The general 

 public, unable to discriminate between the true 

 and the false, has, under these circumstances, 

 been imposed upon by unscrupulous persons, 

 ivho liave not hesitated to sell, a^ genuine 

 Shorthorn, animals that were anything but as 

 represented. [A pretty incrimination, truly. — 

 T. L. M.] And when a rascal sells an honest 

 man such an animal, the mischief is broader 

 than it first appears; for the lionest man has a 

 reputation upon which the produce of this 

 spurious animal can be sold to others and scat- 

 tered far and near into other herds, and as he 

 is unconscious of the fraud that has been put 

 upon him, he innocently passes it along and 

 involves his friends and his neighbors. 



"An extensive demand for bulls among farm- 

 ers and in the grazing regions should bring a 

 rich reward to the breeders who have cultivated 

 and maintained the excellence of Shorthorn 

 cattle, but they find themselves brought into 

 competition with other people who have bulls 

 to sell, which, in the unfortunate condition of 

 th.e records, they are able to substitute for 

 juire Sliorthorns, and which they are glad to 

 sell at such prices as would restrict, if not in 

 many cases utterly destroy, the profits of legiti- 

 mate breeding. Thus, the public record of 

 pedigrees [Shorthorn.— T. L. M.], instead of 

 being a means of public prntection. a.'i it should 

 be,^ has come to he a means of public impo- 

 sition. 



"But time tries everything; and the people 



