The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-01-24
THE RIVALRY OF BREEDS.
Advice to the Farmer Who Is About to
RepIenish His Stock.

Replenish His Stock.
While marked at times with perhaps
more of personal feeling than seems
necessary, a generous rivalry between
the breeds is by all means to be encour-
aged The discussions in which the
friends of each engage, in order to show
their fayorites to be the best, attract
wide attention and do not fail to demon
strate to the general farmer the SUI
perlority of all as compared with COM
mon and unimproved stocks. He may
not be exactly satisfied with the argu-
ments advanced by the friends of Short
horns and Herefords, for instance, as to
which stock is the best, but he can
not fail to perceive, from what the
friends of each advance and concede,
that either stock is a vast inn
provement upon the ordinary stock he
has been handling, and capable of aug
menting very largely the profits of the
farm. And so, while disposed some
times to deplore the warmth with which
the friends of one breed or the other
move to the attack or stand upon the
,.efense, we can not help but feel that
the general cause of live stock improve
ment Is al the time being advanced.
Men r 'Tiihdln, disagree and dispute
about It, 49,. and desirable,
but they hold no discussions over
those things which are poor and value
less; the fine gold is the subject for their
emulation, while the dross which flows
with it from the furnace receives no
thought. Whole communities may di-
vide in their opinions as to whether
Shorthorns or HerefordS or other breeds
are the better, but no champions APP
pear to maintain that common and I'M
improved stock is the equal of any.
And as its best is so far below the i'm
proved sorts there is no discussion
among its owners as to whose is the
best and whose is the poorest So we
say let this generous rivalry continue.
Words spoken to advance the interests
of one breed advance the interests of
all, and the effect upon the general
cause is good. If neither side can quite
succeed in convincing everybody that
they are just right, no matter for be-
tween them they are convincing the
country that only the farmer and ranch
man who maintains unimproved stock
is entirely wrong.
Besides, it is quite evident that such a
competition as this, and a constant COM
parisOn of the merits of the respective
breeds, one with another on the range,
in the feeding lots, in the markets and
at the shows, must stimulate the
friends of each breed to hold their fa-
vorites constantly to the highest stand
ard. There is an ever-present induce
ment not only to work improvement
where that is possible, but to watch for
and correct the earliest tendencies to
deterioration. Breeders are compelled
to improve and correct heir methods
or lose place in the face of these rival
ries.
To the general farmer these discus
sions may at times appear perplexing,
and some may feel uncertain as to what
particular breed to give their attention
to. But really there should be no hest
tation in the matter. If there is any
decided taste or preference, consult that
by all means in making selections. And
if that is absent, any one of the i'm
proved breeds will prove a source of
| immense satisfaction and profit, and
whichever one the farmer selects will
prove so much more profitable than all
the other stocks with which he has to
do that likely he will be ready to main
tain it is 1.-THE best~on earth. "-Breed-
| er'S Gazette