BREEDING BEEF CATTLE 311 



ditions. Mixed droves of cattle of this kind are not desired 

 on any market, and hence are discriminated against and 

 must sell for an exceedingly low price. On the other hand, if 

 each farmer in the locality would conform with the majority 

 of his neighbors and cooperate in propagating the same breed, 

 even though this breed may not be the one that suits his fancy 

 best or even the one that is best suited to the district, until 

 the community became noted for the production of such a 

 breed, then a cattle feeder in search of any particular type 

 should be able to go to the district noted for the production of 

 the breed required and there find cattle in sufl&cient numbers 

 to meet all needs. 



THE BEEF BULL 



To the bull we must look for the improvement of the 

 common cattle. To secure the improvement in a herd of 

 cattle through the females would require the use of forty 

 or more superior cows to accomplish the same results as 

 might be secured by the use of a single bull, and even then 

 there would be less uniformity in the offspring. This is be- 

 cause the bull controls one-half the characters of the entire 

 crop of calves. This has led to the assertion that "the bull 

 is half the herd." This assertion is misleading in a way, for 

 when it comes to herd improvement, he is even more than 

 one-half the herd. 



The cost of a bull. — Among dairymen who keep a record of 

 the production of their cows, there is a fair knowledge of the 

 value of a good bull, while those who breed feeding cattle seem 

 to lack such information, or at least ignore it entirely. From 

 this it must not be inferred that one should pay a fancy price 

 for a beef bull. Many general farmers are depending on 

 practically worthless grade and scrub bulls to head the herds 

 of grade cows. Properly cared for, a bull should sire forty 

 calves in a season. Suppose the bull is of sufficient quahty 



