164 BEEF PRODUCTION 



tered beef bulls of the various beef breeds that are well 

 calculated to sire choice to fancy feeding cattle that can 

 be purchased at from $100 to $200 each. It is no exag- 

 geration to say that as compared with the use of an 

 inferior bull the registered beef bull pays for himself the 

 first year. The most hopeful condition surrounding the 

 production of beef cattle to-day in the United States is 

 the supply of choice bulls that can be secured at relatively 

 low cost. There is, however, in this a danger to the 

 future of beef cattle interests in this country. Breeders 

 of choice registered beef bulls can not long afford to sell 

 the kind that will produce high class beef steers at prices 

 at which certain beef producers insist upon buying them. 

 We have inferred that the bull selected should be 

 pure-bred and that his ancestry should be of the best. 

 We would insist upon this as the only reasonably sure 

 way of insuring beef excellence in his offspring. Not 

 only should a high standard of individual excellence be 

 demanded in the ancestry of a bull, but attention should 

 also be given to their records as producers of stock of 

 high quality. If one is familiar with the methods of the 

 breeders of the ancestry, the pedigree may also be an 

 indication of the conditions under which the bull and 

 his ancestors have been developed. The breeder and 

 his methods should be taken into consideration as well 

 as the appearance of the cattle. Many pampered bulls 

 prove disappointing when put to the actual test of 

 heading a herd of beef cows. It is always assumed that 

 a good individual possessing the type and characteristics 

 of a beef sire should be selected. These points have been 

 so frequently described that extended notice of them 

 here is unnecessary. However, there are some points 

 which should receive especial consideration, viz., con- 

 stitution, quality; character, and masculinity. These 

 points while difficult to define are quickly recognized 

 by the practiced eye of the experienced cattleman. 

 Some lack of breed, type, or character may be sacrificed 

 in a steer breeding bull provided their absence is not 



