Grading up Beef Cattle at Sni-a-Bar Farms 15 
Pen 5.—The fifth pen, containing seven cows, shows the continued 
improvement brought about by purebred bulls, making the third 
generation or great-granddaughters of the original cows. ‘This is a 
good occasion to use mental arithmetic. The first cross represented 
one-half Shorthorn blood, the second cross three-fourths, and the 
third cross seven-eighths. In other words these cows are seven- 
eighths full blood and only one-eighth common stock. 
“These cows are all the third-cross females of breeding age on 
the farm,” the man in charge explains, “ consequently there has been 
no culling. With one exception they are producing their first calves.” 
Though these cows are young, their smoothness, refinement, and 
general quality are clearly evident. 
Pen 6—Pen 6 contains 10 first-cross heifers 214 to 3 years 
old, heavy with calf or with first calf at side. ‘They show the same 
Fic. 7.—A _second-cross cow showing progressive improvement from the use of pure- 
bred bulls. She is of desirable type, deep bodied, thickly fleshed, and shows 
evenness of lines 
characteristics as the first-cross cows already observed and are in- 
cluded in the demonstration to illustrate the appearance of young 
female stock just before reaching productiveness. 
Pen 7—This pen has 10 second-cross heifers of the same age as 
those just seen, but smoother and more nearly uniform, besides show- 
ing greater depth of flesh. ‘ These heifers,” the attendant tells us, 
“are recommended as the type which farmers should breed.” It is 
interesting to study also the suckling calves of these heifers. Even 
at their young age the sturdily built frames show clearly the influ- 
ence of their purebred male parents. 
Pen 8.—The sign “ First-Cross Heifer Calves” on pen 8 scarcely 
prepares us for the animals the pen contains as we look into it. They 
are as large as some mature cattle, being well-developed heifers 
ranging from 8 to 14 months old, averaging close-to a year. 
