A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



One distinct peculiarity of these cattle must be 

 recorded. The bull will serve the same cow only 

 once ; he is very sure and rivals the goat in capacity. 

 The quality of the meat, it is said, holds its own 

 against that of any of the beef breeds in comparative 

 finish. I can vouch for that, as I ate some from a 

 good, grass-fat carcass served by Mr. McFadden 

 when the executive committee of the Cattle Raisers' 

 Association of Texas met at Victoria, in June, 19 19. 

 I am told that there is no discrimination in the market 

 against Brahmin cattle ; In fact, at Fort Worth, where 

 the Brahmin cross Is heavily marketed, it finds favor 

 because of its good kill. 



While in Florida in 19 17 I found Brahmin bulls 

 of strong grade being used on the run-down primi- 

 tive cows, with the thought of getting scale, con- 

 stitution and the beef instinct. It was the intention 

 of crossing the heifer progeny with the established 

 beef breeds. In theory it looks good to me, since 

 many of the Florida grasses are coarse, and, as I 

 told them in an address, Florida cattlemen should 

 try anything and everything, since they can't breed 

 down. 



The law of selection must be the natural basis 

 for bringing a herd to the highest production and 

 quality, but all breeders will agree, I think, that 

 individual merit must stand severe rivalry from "the 

 get." I remember that in discussing breeding with 

 Marcus Daly the matter of "like begets like" came 



[99] 



