Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1875-12-02

mand. The farmer who proposes to wait
until good Shorthorns can be had at beef
price will never be the purchaser Of a good
bull.
Bulls are valuable only as they are capa-
BILE of producing uniform good stock, The
progressive farmer having come to a cor
rect conclusion as to what constitutes excel
lence in a good steer, and knowing what kind
of COWS he has to breed from, would natural
ly inquire, how should [ know a good bull?
And what are the characteristics of a good
breeding bull? AS a law of nature, "like
tends to produce like" A bull tends to
breed like himself. He transmits to his off
spring that only which he has himself. If
his ancestors. both male and female, were
uniform in all that constitutes excellence,
and he is individually good, he may be de-
pended upon for producing good stock. But
if part Of his ancestors only were good, and
the Others bad, he may transmit to his Off
spring bad qualities as we'll as good. He
can transmit only what he has himself.
What he has is mainly derived from his an
%cestors, though he may have gained or lost
Wy u SoOu vi Ddu > yotCtl VI OICCN1uSs 1SSN-
ing and training.
Hence, the pedigree of a bull should be
good. This is Of first Importance. That is,
as near all the blood in his veins as possible,
should be derived from good ancestors. A
short pedigree, with only five or six sires, If
they were all good, may be worth more than
a long pedigree, descended from Favorite,
80 +lo l,c+ E,,o nr civ c;roc iproyic,,
bulls. Along pedigree is not necessarily a
good one, nor a short one absolutely a bad
one. The value of a pedigree is not only
estimated by its length, but also by its
quality.
In selecsinga bull to breed from, the value
of his dam should be taken into considera-
ton as well as that of the sire. Her milking
qualities should not be overlooked. A bull
from a cow that is a good mixer is worth
more, other things being equal, than one
from a poor mixer. AS limited above, the
value of a bull depends upon his power to
produce uniform good calves. Some bulls
of great individual merit lack this power,
while other bulls throw calves better than
themselves or the COWS to which they are
bred. This is one Of tie characteristics of a
good bull.
1t is impossible for any one to always tell
how bulls will breed until they are tested
but the intelligent and careful farmer or
herdsman can guess with approximate GER
tainty as to the general character of the get.
A good breeding bull must not only be like
a bull, but he must look like a bull. He
must be masculine in appearance. This
holds good as well in the pure Shorthorn as
in the scrub or any other breed. A good
bull is as much entitled to the peculiar eye,
head, horn. neck, shoulder and chest that
characterizes him as a male, as a man is en-
titled to his beard and the peculiar expires
sion of the countenance. A bull with light
Jaws. narrow face and forehead, slim horns.
thin neck and shoulders is seldom an i'm
pressive sire of good things. He must be
masculine in appearance. This does not I'M
ply that he must be coarse; on the contrary
he should be fine. Coarseness may be de
fined as uneveness, while fineness is the re
suit of uniformity. Each part should be
such that it fits smoothly and evenly to those
adjoining it. !,
AS has been said above, a bull is only val
liable as his breeding is valuable. This Gle
ponds, of course, to some extent, upon the
COWS to which he is used. Great extreme
between sire and lam seldom match well to
gether. The intelligent breeder, in making
selection of his breeding bull, will have re-
/ gard to the cows with which he is to b'
coupled. IF they are under size, they vii