382 THE MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF CATTLE 



herds that were not subject to domestication. No 

 sooner, however, do they come under the care of man 

 than this necessity ceases to exist, whatever may be 

 said as to the value of horns in improving the appear- 

 ance. That they do thus add to the majestic beauty of 

 some breeds, particularly the West Highland cattle, now 

 so frequently found in the parks of noblemen in Great 

 Britain, cannot be denied. It is seldom, however, that 

 esthetic considerations are allowed to bear adversely 

 on the attainment of practical results in connection with 

 the keeping of cattle. 



The widely prevalent opinion that horns are no 

 longer a prime necessity in cattle subject to domestica- 

 tion is witnessed in the evolution of hornless breeds in 

 recent centuries. Certain strains of hornless cattle are now 

 found within nearly all the horned breeds in America, 

 in addition to the distinctively polled breeds that have 

 been introduced. That public sentiment is growing in 

 favor of the production of cattle without horns is thus 

 evidenced. 



The general practice of dehorning cattle is of but 

 recent introduction. History is apparently silent as to 

 whether cattle were dehorned in ancient times. It came 

 into practice in certain feed yards in Great Britain at 

 sundry times during the nineteenth century. The gen- 

 eral attitude of the public toward it, however, was one 

 of hostility. It was looked upon as being unnecessarily 

 cruel. It was not much practiced in the United States 

 or Canada prior to 1890. The necessity for dehorning 

 was most felt in the feed lots located within the ]\Iissis- 

 sippi basin, and there it was first generally introduced. 



The introduction of dehorning into the United 

 States and Canada was strongl}' opposed. The practice 

 was violently assailed in the press of both countries as 

 being cruel and unnecessary. The Ontario government 

 deemed the subject sufficiently important to justify the 

 appointment of an in^'estigating committee to report 



