Democratic messenger., 1888-10-13
IMPROVED STOCK THE
CHEAPEST,

Although the original ex-
pense incurred by the pur-
chase Of thoroughbreds may
be greater than the cost Of
improved stock, yet in the end
an investment for thorough
breds is the best, as the actu-
al difference in value between
good and inferior stock is
much greater than at first ap-
pears. A herd Of cattle. wheth-
erof thoroughbreads orgrades
il bred for beef, will show the
value Of the bred, not only in
the weight Of carcasses in pro-
portion to age but also in the
cost Of pro duction. Our
thoroughbreds or not bred for
size exclusively, nor even for
ability to digest and convert
the smallest proportion Of food
into the largest quantity of
beef, but they also possess
prominence in certain charac-
teristic equally as desirable.
In our beef cattle the breed
ers have developed the most
available and choicest portions
Of meat where tits most desir-
ed. The hind quarters and loins
are heavily developed, the
head is smaller, the bones fin
er and the quality Of the flesh
increased, and in thus produc-
ing large carcasses at small
cost, the value Of the animals is
enhanced by being to that de-
gree Of perfection which ena-
bles the farmer or breeder to
realize the best prices obtain
able.
In our dairy cows we find
the improved animal the cheap
est. A COW yielding forty
pounds Of milk a day will soon
pay much more than the
amount expended for the i'm.
provement of the entire herd
compared with that usually
derived from one not we'll bred.
The difference Of only one
pound Of butter a week in the
product of one COW will pay
the purchase money Of a Jer-
sey bull during the term Of her
life. and when we consider that
a single bull in the period Of
five years may change the
characteristics Of all the cows
in a neighborhood the attempt
to estimate his value is not
within the range Of possibility.
Individual animals sometimes
increase the value Of the stock
Of a whole nation. Messen-
ger, the founder Of our trot-
ting strain of horses, though
not valued during his lifetime
as a costly animal, increased
the value OF our horses many
millions Of dollars. The Booth
and Bates family Of Shorthorns
also produced noted individu-
alsofextraordinarym merit. while
even in so small an animal as
the sheep we have instances
Of great Improvement through
the influences Of a single male
as is remembered in the case
of the Oxford-down ram Free
land. which received the sweep
stakes prize at the centennial.
The descendants Of this ram
sell for hundreds of dollars
each. and are greatly in de-
mand.
An old boar, that was not
highly valued. founded our
famous Chester white breed
Of swine, and the selection Of
a few 6ne-boned Neapolitan
hogs crossing gave us the Gel
ebrated Essexs. which are the
great.rivals OF the Berkshires.
The originators Of the promi-
nent families Of stock found
it very profitable to improve
with every opportunity, and
the result was that with every
improvement the value Of the
stock was lessened. 1t does
not pay to keep inferior stock
If better can oe procured, as
the conditions for keeping the
improved animals are the same
as those for the other kinds.
With good quarters, liberal
feeding and care in manage.
ment for stock OF all kinds,
improved or inferior. with the
same labor greater returns
and larger profit, at less cost,
will result from Improvement.
while the capital invested for
the improvement will be a
small sum compared with the