1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
67 
>f SERMON ON THE SHORT-HORN. 
“Like Produces Like.” 
fixed types.—I n studying animal development 
and the various influences and effects of breeding, no 
law became more closely demonstrated to early breed¬ 
ers than the one that “like produces like.” Bakewell 
125 years ago demonstrated this law to his satisfac¬ 
tion, and ever since then thinking breeders, in season 
and out, have been impressed with its truth. In fact, 
in a general way we all of us are impressed with it, 
whether stockmen or not. Friends call to see the new 
baby, and “How he does resemble his father,” is a 
common expression. You meet Calvin’s 18-year-old 
son for the flrst time, and at once you begin to search 
for resemblances. That is simply illustrative of the 
hahits of people. We institute comparisons, and flrst 
of all in family relationship. We naturally expect, 
“like father, like son,” and the same application comes 
in with farm animals. Circumstances, however, affect 
cases. If you will stop to consider a minute, you will 
be impressed with the fact that with wild animals 
the tyre is very flxed. Red foxes vary but little in 
type and description; only in minor things. The same 
applies to partridges, red deer, crows, prairie dogs, 
black bears or anything else. In fact, these wild 
things breed so uniformly alike that scientists have 
been able to classify them so accurately that no mat¬ 
ter where found, by the aid of a printed description, 
they are able to determine them if they perchance 
have not seen them before. An American robin by 
accident found in central Russia, is determined with 
ease by a Russian ornithologist, who has access to 
descriptive works on ornithology, though never hav¬ 
ing seen it before. To what is this due? To the fact 
that wild things have reproduced themselves from 
generation to generation under very 
similar condition, and so have highly 
Intensifled uniform breeding. Prepotency 
Is the power of an animal to stamp or 
impress its character in a high degree in 
its offspring, and in wild animals prepo¬ 
tency has it highest average develop¬ 
ment. Foods, mating and climate are 
less variable with the wild beasts than 
the domesticated, and they are accord¬ 
ingly more uniform in type. 
WHEN MAN CONTROLS.—With do¬ 
mesticated animals we have a different 
condition. Man usually mates the sexes, 
attends to the feeding and controls the 
other conditions of life to a large degree. 
Animals of widely different tempera¬ 
ments, or of different constitutional 
forces are perhaps mated. Opposites, or 
positive and negative are joined, and the 
result is uncertainty. Well-established 
forces in one generation become unset¬ 
tled in a second, while a third makes a 
bad matter worse, for here is where the 
bad results of cross-breeding most often » 
show themseives. Now I have jumped 
from the one extreme to the other, from 
the well established uniform type, to the 
indeflnite, hit-or-miss type. What I wish to impress 
is this: Nearly all of the breeds of to-day are the 
results of long persistent breeding, in which opposites 
perhaps have played their part, but where a master 
hand and mind has also played his. Certain things 
were sought for, and other things denied. The noble 
Short-horn is the result of what history tells us is a 
combination of the cattle along the River Tees, in 
Yorkshire, with some Dutch blood from across the 
Channel, and probably something else. But the Col- 
lings and Bates and Booth and Cruikshank worked 
without ceasing to develop a breed type that should 
be prepotent and uniform. And so for over a century 
during the generations, some men have sought to pro¬ 
duce Short-horns that would come up to their ideals. 
These ideals had much in common. All the great 
breeders have sought for superior constitution, rapid 
growth, a maximum of desirable meat and a mini¬ 
mum of offal. Broad backs, deep well-sprung ribs, 
square bodies well covered with flesh, hard fine bone, 
great feeding capacity, placid temperament—these all 
men unite on as desirable and all-important. The 
more men have succeeded in breeding such a type, 
the more carefully this has been attended to from 
generation to generation, the more uniform have been 
the results. And so by casting aside undesirable ani¬ 
mals, or those lacking in prepotency, and holding only 
to the best that represented the type, breeds have been 
raised to superior levels. It is through such a course 
of development and breeding that has been evolved 
such a beautiful Short-horn cow as that shown in Fig. 
30. This magniflcent beast of Aaron Barber’s is no 
accident. Note the grand constitution shown in the 
great depth and thickness of body at the shoulders, 
and the deep prominent breast and stylish carriage 
pf head, expressive of the best in the Short-horn char¬ 
acter. Further, note the level and undoubtedly broad 
back and full hind quarters with the short legs and 
small amount of waste in the blocky body. The pedi¬ 
gree of this highly-developed beef type will unques¬ 
tionably include numerous progenitors celebrated for 
high qualities and prepotency. One may stand off 
and look at such as she and say without hesitation, 
“This is breeding!” 
WHY NOT CROSS-BREED?—A few weeks ago the 
writer was on the programme of a farmers’ institute 
to discuss the subject of “Crossbred vs. Purebred Live 
Stock.” Late in the discussion of the subject, after 
various persons had spoken of crossing this and that 
breed, one man arose in the back of the hall and said, 
in substance: “I know that for a great many years 
breeders who knew more than I can hope to, spent 
time and effort in developing certain breeds of live 
stock that have just the qualities I want. They have 
created the highly-developed Jersey cow for milk, 
the Short-horn or Hereford for beef, the Berkshire or 
Poland-China for pork. Now why should I try to 
create something different, when I know that these 
men really have produced the things I want in these 
or other breeds?” That man gave the correct, intelli¬ 
gent expression. Why should he want to cross two 
different breeds? He should not unless he is a very 
exceptional student of the laws of inheritance and 
breeding, and has some well-deflned, reasonable policy 
in mind that may be continued experimentally for 
generations. Rather the breeder should very carefully 
learn what the true capacity of a breed is, what it has 
done and may accomplish. If one will work with ani¬ 
mals representative of good specimens of our common 
breeds of to-day, he will not be likely to be dissatis¬ 
fied with results. But he must select his stock with 
caution and judgment. He should ever have in mind 
then will the average herd and flock of America begin 
to take its proper place in our live stock economy, 
and not till then. All the rest is guesswork. 
Indiana Exp. Station. c. s. plitmb. 
A CHAMPION SHORT-HORN COW. Fig. 30. 
this law, that “like produces like.” If he Is to use 
breeding males owned by neighbors, he should not be 
influenced by the service fee, but by the relative merits 
of sires. If he is to buy, he should first seek the type 
and style of animal needed for the herd, and then talk 
price. 
A SHORT-HORN SERMON.—This beautiful Short¬ 
horn cow teaches a sermon in good breeding. That 
beauty of form means high ideals, the result of super¬ 
ior mating in parents, grandparents, great grandpar¬ 
ents, etc. No doubt, old Amos Cruikshank looked with 
pride on individuals of his in the pedigree of this cow 
a half century ago, for this cow shows ancestry, and 
ancestry means breeding, at least of some sort. We 
do not have these facts in mind enough. Remember 
that long legs, narrow backs, thin chests and poor 
quarters reproduce just as well as the very best type, 
and also do not forget that It costs just as much, yes, 
more, to feed one of these undesirable sorts, as it does 
the better one. I wish to illustrate that fact. We 
have at Purdue University two Hereford cows of the 
same general type and character as this Short-horn 
cow. These animals have inherited from past gen¬ 
erations a great tendency to flesh production. They 
always feel mellow and plump to the touch. No mat¬ 
ter how poor the pastures, these cows never get thin, 
as farmers ordinarily consider thinness of flesh, and 
in spite of this fact these two cows are the easiest 
keepers in our barns. They require less digestible 
food, and less grain to keep up a good condition of 
body fat, than anything else we have. This in a 
marked degree. And their calves, which have always 
been sired by superior males, have inherited the same 
characteristic easy-feeding qualities. It Is simply an¬ 
other illustration of “like produces like.” Whenever 
our breeders are duly impressed with this great truth. 
ARGUMENTS FOR APPLE BOXES. 
The Box as an Apple Package. 
Regarding the apple-box question, the principle 
issue would seem to be facility in marketing. Will 
the apple box better enable the producer and con¬ 
sumer to save what the wholesaler and retailer now 
pocket, which is in many instances almost the whole 
hog? Will the box enable the grower to deliver direct 
to city homes, and cannot this be brought about by 
means of the small advertising columns in the city 
dailies? The apple barrel is economical, and this 
point is much in its favor. In New England towns 
emptied flour barrels generally may be had for 10 to 
15 cents each. If these are swept out carefully and 
stored properly, not more than through one season, 
they answer the same purpose as new barrels, costing 
three times as much. If apples are to be stored over 
Winter in a cellar the small amount of flour which 
Inevitably remains, in spite of all attempts at clean¬ 
ing, speedily decomposes, and becomes a prolific 
source of rotten fruit. But the cellar for apples may 
be regarded as out of the question. The farmer is 
hopelessly behind the times who does not keep them 
above the ground in some room or building which is 
kept just barely at the freezing point. If this is over 
a non-freezing cellar, and three or four apples on the 
top of each barrel becomes half frozen during the suc¬ 
cessive cold snaps, the conditions are just right. Un¬ 
der these conditions an old barrel is as good as a new 
one. Now, who is going to furnish the farmer with 
so good an apple package, at so satisfac¬ 
tory a price, I would like to ask? If all 
the miscellaneous groceries came in 
boxes of uniform size and style, free 
from all advertising legends and labels, 
say of one bushel each, and three of 
these came as cheaply to the farmers’ 
hands as one barrel, the matter would 
be much simplified. I would rather nail 
up three boxes than head up one second¬ 
hand barrel, and do the job properly for 
shipment. Will some enterprising manu¬ 
facturing grocer come to the farmer’s 
aid by sending out all products in neat 
boxes of uniform and approved size, free 
of all advertising matter save cards 
easily removed? The active demand for 
the empty package should stimulate the 
retail grocer to use his influence in their 
direction. It is apparent, the economy 
in having boxes destined to become 
fruit packages, made and distributed 
from large centers and cost of delivery 
among farmers already covered. Econ¬ 
omy is the order of the day. The trusts 
practice it; indeed, they exist for this 
sole purpose if we may credit their as¬ 
sertions. And I am confident that the 
question of first cost of the package to the producer, 
penny-wise and pound-foolish though it be, must for 
a long time to come dominate with the masses. 
Massachusetts. f. w. proctob. 
Convenience of the Package. 
I agree with The R. N.-Y. in regard to the apple box 
in preference to the barrel. The box that I would pre¬ 
fer would be a bushel box with a division in it, the 
same nature as the California fruit boxes, not a seven- 
eighth, but a bushel. The California boxes hold more 
than a bushel; I suppose they count for shrinkage. 
Among some disadvantages of the barrel. In packing 
by the fruit grower sometimes they are faced on the 
bottom, in case that end be opened, then the apples 
are poured in, falling a distance of two feet. Some 
are soft and are bruised, and soon there is a bad apple 
ready to contaminate the whole barrel. A barrel Is 
too heavy for one man to lift; he can roll it on end, 
but that does not always put it where it is wanted, 
and it is often the cause of words bad enough to spoil 
the apple. It is unhandy to get the bottom apples out 
unless the barrel is turned over, and sometimes it falls 
to the lot of the housewife who has bought the barrel 
of apples. A box of apples is usually handy, packed 
in a close space easier handled, and at market with 
the lid torn off a customer can with a few digs see 
Into the heart of the box, and the seller need not fear 
to meet the buyer again. Some persons would like to 
have a bushel or a half bushel of apples to suit their 
circumstances; the box would be a great accommoda¬ 
tion. We used to have nothing but 60-box berry 
crates. They have disappeared fast; small dealers all 
prefer the 32-box crates. Bushel peach crates are get¬ 
ting scarce; the half bushel baskets are in the lead. 
Customers want to look over as much of their goods 
as possible before buying, and so we all do in every¬ 
thing. P. 8 . PEASE. 
