A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



increase directly in proportion to the benefits that 

 breeders received from their use. IMy attention 

 was first called to his work when he made an effort 

 to induce a number of ranchmen to contribute to a 

 public sale lOO good steer calves, or, say, two car- 

 loads each, to be placed by him, and developed into 

 "baby beef." He had every natural condition against 

 him. Tradition said that finished beef under three 

 years lacked flavor; feeders were skeptical about 

 blackleg, ticks, the cost of development, brands and 

 comparative market prices as against older cattle; 

 there was no export demand for that class; accHma- 

 tion was a deterrent factor, and, in fact, from every 

 angle it was a leap into the dark. 



Producers naturally wanted to send their best, and 

 they knew the curse which is put on a topped herd, 

 no matter how small the cut. They had misgivings 

 as to the net result from the sale of calves as against 

 their spring clearances of yearlings to the northwest. 

 They were in the habit of selling their drop, less a 

 lo per cent cut, to one buyer, and did not cotton to 

 dividing up among several small buyers or selling 

 at public sale at some eastern center. Trails to the 

 railroad were often 50 to 100 miles, and according 

 to the old ranch code that meant trailing the cows to 

 the railroad with their calves, and the cows back 

 home. "Tom" was "up against it" on both sides; 

 progress was slow. The story is too long for all 

 the details. 



[71] 



