Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-07-31

Nething, perhaps more severely tries
the skill of q breeder. orthe extent a
his observation, than Hi estimates q
young STOCK st very early ages. in Con.
necti0n with the afteraEesults which
justly or falsify those estimates. Many
men who can Judge fat beasts can not
rightly Judge animals in the lean state;
but there are far more men who can
judge animals fat or lean, and vet hit
immensely wide of the mark in their
guesses upon the future merit of foals,
and other infants of the farm. Their
difficulty, however, often proceeds from
ignorance of family antecedents. The
written or printed particulars of family
history they may know, in case of pedi-
gree cattle, but until they acquire q
sight and touch familiarity with their
stock, generation after generation, they
can not always tell the signs put out in
an animals early life analogous to the
appearances of the bud of q new or an
unknown flower. As the practiced
florist can early discern in the buds OF
his old favorites the best and the
worst flowers of the forthcoming
season, so the practical breeder.
who has taken pains to ponder
over the peculiarities of each cali, and
to mark and remember the course Of
development, knows the meaning Of
each characteristic felt by the hand Of
perceived by the eye, and of each changes
in the course of growth. This is some.
times remarkable III breeders of long.
established herds of cattle, who car
form their opinions upon calves with
the greatest precision, and pronounce
those opinions with confidence, when
strangers would be disposed to enter
tain far different expectations. more ia
vOrable, or less so, than those of the
men whose forecasts are mirrored retro.
spects. The accuracy of these forecasts
is necessarily endangered whenever
fresh blood Is introduced, as the results
of new combinations, Or the predominar
ticn Of new power greater than the Odd,
may alter the appearances presented al
the different stages of growth. We have
known a sire. whose daughters at ma
turity were much more grand, massive,
and excellent than the dams of the hero
into which he was brought. cause
great disappointment when his first
years heifers began to grow out from
calfhood. AS thuy developed, his true
merit was discovered. He was enlarg
ing the scale and substance of the herd
and the early and middle stages Of
growth aroused needless alarm of ulti
nate coarseness. On the other hand
the process of reduction of a coarse
herd to heater symmetry may cause
miscalculations and misgivings, while
the effects of the change are new to thu
owner of the cattle. Some part o.
the difficulty of forming accurate
estimates of young and growing
stock has been felt by Judge,
of cattle of immature ages al
fairs or exhibitions; but as judges are
usually selected from among men Of
wide experience, probability is com
monty in favor of the appointed judge
knowing most of the types likely to b
presented to him. and in all stages o.
life and growth. The man whose knowl
edge is all home-spun is scarcely fit tt
exercise judicial functions in public,
however skillful he may be in the use
of the materials found within the limits
Of his own pasture ground. His knewl
edge is good within certin radius, ba'
that radius is too small.-Liue Stood
Journal. ...s.....s-. .ss..-,