CHAPTER XVII. 

 FITTING STEERS FOR EXHIBITION 



The selection of animals to be fitted for exhibition 

 purposes is obviously the first essential. It goes with- 

 out saying that they should be the best individuals in 

 the herd. Animals that will respond properly to fitting 

 and develop into smooth, thick fleshed beasts should 

 be selected. The head should be broad between the 

 eyes, short from eye to nose, nostrils and mouth large, 

 indicating great feed consuming capacity, eyes bright, 

 yet placid, indicating a quiet disposition, legs short, 

 body broad and deep, back and underline straight, tail- 

 head broad and smooth with the tail well set on. Style 

 and quality are essential points. Quality is to be looked 

 for especially in the hair and bone. 



Care should be taken to select animals having all 

 the advantage of age that is possible. For senior calf 

 and yearling classes, animals dropped in September and 

 October should be selected, while for junior classes, 

 January and February born. For calf classes the se- 

 lection is usually made when the calves are from three 

 weeks to a month old, as the ones nearest perfect at that 

 time are usually the ones that will make the best fin- 

 ished animals. In selecting the calf, breeding should 

 not be overlooked, for as are the sire and dam, so, to 

 a greater or less extent, will be their offspring. 



After the selection has been made, the next impor- 

 tant thing will be the feeding and management during 

 the growing period. Success in this will depend largely 

 upon three things: the comfort of the animals, a variety 

 of good feeds, and the skill of the feeder. 



The calf should be allowed to nurse the dam as long 

 as possible, as there is no other feed that will keep a 



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