The Breeding Herd 57 



age; these, too, may be bought cheaply and are often 

 more useful than a young bull would be, but this refers 

 only to bulls from the small farms and from registered 

 herds. Discarded range bulls are usually worthless for 

 breeding purposes. They are too often sold because they 

 have lost their breeding powers through too much serv- 

 ice or general hard conditions. Good bulls may be 

 purchased from almost any of the breeders of good pure- 

 bred cattle in the West. Some of the bulls are marketed 

 direct from the farm and some through the public auction 

 sales. The names of the leading breeders may be obtained 

 from the advertising columns of the agricultural papers 

 or by writing to the state agricultural college. Most of 

 the agricultural colleges keep in close touch with the 

 breeders and can give at any time the nearest and best 

 place to buy bulls. 



Under farm conditions, a yearling bull should sire 

 about twenty calves; a two-year-old bull, thirty; and 

 a three-year-old, forty. Under range conditions not more 

 than half of this number can be expected. A yearling 

 is not very satisfactory on the open unf enced range, since 

 hard conditions and too many cows not only cause him to 

 get very few calves that year but may render him useless 

 thereafter. The best cattle-men use only mature bulls 

 and put one with twenty or thirty cows. 



The price commonly paid for beef bulls ranges from $100 

 up to $250. It is practically impossible to buy a good bull 

 of any kind for less than $100, and the better grades cost 

 from $150 to $200. This is for good, well-bred, regis- 

 tered animals of breeding age. Calves cost somewhat less. 

 A fancy grade of bulls, such as are suitable to head good 

 pure-bred herds, cannot be bought for these prices, but 

 will cost $400, $500 and up to $5000 each. A few years 



