HISTORY OF HEREFOED CATTLE 



515 



who have been imposecl upon with spurious cat- 

 tle, and those who have been deceived into sup- 

 posing they were introducing well bred bulls 

 into their grazing herds, fail to realize the an- 

 ticipations which they entertained. They had 

 heard and read much of the excellence of Short- 

 horn cattle, and felt they had a right to realize 

 something of it in their own herds. But time 

 brought only disappointment. Unfortunately, 

 however, instead of placing the cause of the 

 failure where it belonged, upon the Record, 

 upon the rascals who, through it, had perpe- 

 trated fraud upon them, and upon the partic- 

 ular animals which had been imposed upon 

 them — instead of placing the cause of failure 

 where it belonged, they, still relying upon the 

 fidelity of this record, the integrity of the 

 men who sold them the cattle, and the purity 

 of the animals themselves, committed the mon- 

 strous error of ascribing their failure to a want 

 of merit and excellence or adaptability in the 

 great race of Shorthorn cattle. And their de- 

 sire for improvement not being satisfied, there 

 immediately sprung up a demand for some 

 other breed of cattle which does have the power 

 to favorably impress itself upon the stocks 

 with which it is interbred. 



"The respective merits of different breeds of 

 cattle need not be brought into this discussion, 

 and would indeed be foreign to it ; but the fact 

 cannot well be disputed that the Shorthorns 

 had such a start, both in respect to the estima- 

 tion of the public regarding their merits and 

 the number of animals and breeders, that the 

 advancement of any other breed of cattle to a 

 position of nominal rivalry should have been 

 very slow and difficult, if not impossible. And 

 it would have been impossible, had the esti- 

 mates of everybody regarding the character and 

 adaptability of Shorthorns been based upon ex- 

 perience with genuine specimens of the breed. 

 And if the facts could be all ascertained, it 

 would doubtless be found that those whose ex- 

 perience with Shorthorn cattle is said to have 

 been unsatisfactory in an intelligent effort to put 

 them to practical use, have not generally had in 

 their possession well-bred representatives of the 

 breed. They were imposed upon with impurely 

 bred cattle, and, disappointed in the results, 

 have acquired impressions concerning the 

 Shorthorns which not only do this whole 

 breed of cattle, but the breeders of it, great in- 

 injustice. The extent of this injustice can 

 scarcely be estimated ; but in the grazing re- 

 gions, individuals here and there are paying 

 for bulls of other breeds two or three times the 

 price for which Shorthorns can be obtained : and 

 among the general farmers evervwhere throuirh- 



out the country the same false impressions, 

 springing from precisely the same source, are 

 operating to discourage the purchase, restrict 

 the demand for and depreciate the price of 

 every Shorthorn calf that is dropped. 



"This unfortunate condition of affairs has 

 been growing worse from year to year; and it 

 is high time the breeders, acting through a 

 regularly organized association, should move 

 for a reformation of the record, and the pro- 

 tection of their personal and pecuniary inter- 

 ests, which are being so seriously prejudiced. 

 To hesitate longer about applying a remedy 

 would be little less than criminal. 



"There must be a public record of pedigrees. 

 This record must command the confidence of 

 the public. To command this confidence the 

 record must be conducted with honesty, with 

 care, and without bias or prejudice of any sort. 

 A dishonest management cannot be guarded 

 against as long as the record is the private 

 property of one man, ivho can admit or reject 

 at pleasure any pedigree offered. Care in its 



T. F. B. SOTHAM. 

 Chillicothe, Mo. 



compilation cannot be secured where the com- 

 piler is responsible to no one but himself for 

 its accuracy. It cannot be said to be free from 

 bias where the editor who passes upon a pedi- 

 gree receives a dollar if he approves of it and 

 loses a dollar if he rejects it. It cannot be said 



