State Convention—suggestions. 
3 11 
The various classes of cattle now in use among the farmers of 
this country, the Short-horn, Devon, Ayrshire and Alderney, 
came originally from England. The butter and cheese of that 
country, and the milk furnished the cities therein, comes largely 
from short-horns. In the United States, the people called 
Shakers, who are among our best butter and cheese makers, and 
among our most successful farmers, breed and use short-horns 
only. 
The noted breeders of short-horns in this country, those whose 
cattle sell at the highest prices, the fancy prices, if you please, 
those who are the most known as short-horn breeders, as a rule 
pay but little attention to the milking quality of their stock, 
making no effort to develop it. They are thus careless and negli¬ 
gent of this quality, because there is much more money at this 
time in the way they are breeding, and then it would be very un¬ 
wise and unprofitable to pay $1,600, or more, for a cow to make 
butter from, when one at a cost of $50 to $75 would yield just as 
much. At the same time many of the animals bred and sold at 
very high prices by the more noted breeders, are very fine milkers. 
Throughout the country there are farmers who are engaged in 
breeding a class of thorough-bred short-horns, whose milking 
qualities receive much more attention, who by selecting their best 
milkers and breeding them to bulls from families of equally good 
character in that direction, are producing short-horns of very de¬ 
sirable milking qualities, and will continue to do so to a much 
greater extent when there is a call for such animals. 
In advocating the breeding of short-horns by farmers generally, 
I do not wish to be understood as recommending all farmers to 
breed thoroughbreds. A few only, in every town or neighbor¬ 
hood, or more in populous towns, could breed throughbreds with 
profit to themselves and great benefit to all within their vicinity. 
As a rule, a person entering on this business should do so in a 
small way, buying at first one or two females and a bull at mod¬ 
erate prices, and growing into the business by the natural increase, 
until in time, when they have become known as breeders, and 
have by reading, observation and experience, become better ac¬ 
quainted with the business, they can, if it is likely to prove a 
success, buy more and higher priced animals. 
