172 A lliSTORV OK SHOKTUOliNH IN KANHAS 



bull is ri^lit ill all csseuiials he is putting bad in- 

 to tlic |)c(iioi'(!e (>r the calf. If the pedigree of the 

 cow is not Just what it should be it can soon be 

 Jiiadc; so by the use of go<»(l bulls but a mistake in 

 the bull is very serious and affects every calf he 

 sires. Do not use a bidl of the wi'ong type or 

 i'roni the wi'caig kind of ancestry no niaftei- how 

 chea|)ly lie can Ik; bought oi' how good he looks, 

 lor tli(! wrong kind of a, bull will spoil the whole 

 herd. 'J'lie bull is tlu; secret of making and keep- 

 ing the pedigree; and the individual good or bad. 



The Term "Plain Bred".— J can not close this 

 cliaptca- without calling attention to the misus*; of 

 the tcn'ui "plain bred" as a|)plied to Shorthorns. 

 1 am (piite sure many cattle of this breed and of 

 all other breeds ai'c "plain l>r(;d" but to classify 

 those descended from Scotch or later day Iti'itish 

 importations as well bi'ed and those desciaided 

 from earlier injportations as plain bred is a tra- 

 vesty on conmion sense, and an insult to the in- 

 lelligence of any s(;lf-r(!specting Amei'ica.n citi- 

 zen. 



As before stated, the ])edigr('e of a Shorthorn 

 is only a, list of names of the ancestry of an ani- 

 mal. What tli(^ in(li\'i<liial merit of the ancestors 

 of 1liis animal were as beef producei'S makes the 

 pedigree. If 1lie i)iimediaie aiicesti-y of 1he ani- 

 mal pedigreed was of the plain, common sort 

 of indi\'i(luals i1 is a plain pedigree even if it 

 d(!Sc<uids through fashionable crosses to a 



