Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-09-22
A Shorthorn Enthusiast.

A KENTUCKY FARMER GIVES HIS REA-
SONS IN SELECTING A BREED AS THE
MOST PROFITABLE To RAISE.
Since the close of the Civil War more
fortunes and more failures have been
made in cattle than perhaps in any
other two branches of industry. One
man of limited means will begin buying
and selling cattle in small way, and in a
few years will become quite rich in this
pursuit alone. Another will start with
plenty of capital and will buy in large
numbers and seemingly will be outstip-
ping his rival; but in the course of time
will make a fiat failure. Why is this?
1t cannot be due to the advantages one
had over the other, for the advantages
were in favor of the man who failed. 1t
is simply because the first man had no
money to invest for a rise in the market,
and was forced to buy, as it were, to-day
and sell tomorrow. This made it neces-
sary for him to keep up with the times,
not only as to what cattle would bring
a pound, but what kind of cattle were
wanted in particular market at certain
times. You will always find it best
to supply the demand instead OF trying
TO create one.
The farmer who raises cattle for the
market has the same thing to contend
with that the dealer has. The only diff
| ference is the farmer has to look further
ahead of him than the dealer is compel
led to; for when he engages in the busi-
ness he must look several years ahead
| at least, to see what particular kind of
an animal will he wanted at the time his
stock will be ready for market There
fore, the first thing for him is to see his
most available market and find out what
kind of cattle net the farmer the most
money. The next thing is to find what
particular breed of cattle produces that
which is wanted in the market he has
selected.
do not mean by this that man is to
sell to one market alone, but he must
have one to look to for the sale of his
stock, and must govern his business by
what he sees and knows of daily trans
actions that are made there. There are
many good breeds of cattle, and in fact
all of them are good for some men and
for some purposes. If man has trade
that wants to buy dairy cattle, he has
several breeds TO select from, but if his
market wants beef he also has many
good breeds to select from that are
known to be good.
l will pot mention the all purpose
COW of which so much is said, as
think a man should have one thing in
view and then work to it. Taking it all
in all, the man who raises beef breed
is the man who always has market for
his animal, let it be what it may, so it is
in good condition. The point being settled
that it is more profitable for the average
farmer to raise cattle of beef breed
than those of dairy breed, will look
after the particular breed that comes
nearest to being the ideal for him. l
have no prejudice against any of the
breeds, and only wish i were able to
breed several of them instead OF only
one; but it is the money side, or the
"meat and bread side, of this question
the average farmer is interested In.
Let the rich man have his Sussex, his
Highland, his Dutch Belted or any other,
or as MANY kinds of them as he pleases;
do not envy him. He will not hurt the
business of the less fortunate farmer,
but will be an advantage to him in many
ways. | wish there were more OF such
men engaged in the industry. But from
the best information to be gathered
from the best books and papers on this
subject, and papers are far better than
books, as they keep us posted from day
to day, we must make our decision.
T.1 To, Of thasn fhinOS tha
Shorthorn seems to me by far the best
of all for the class of farmers have IN
view. l do not say this without due
consideration and careful summing up
of the reasons which leave balance IN
favor of the Shorthorn. In the first
place, it is one of the largest of all the
breeds, weighing all the way from twelve
hundred pounds at from one to two
wears old, to two thousand to three
thousand pounds at mature age. The
last weight is rare, however, but animals
weighing two thousand and more are Oft
en- seen. This makes them desired by the
butcher. The flesh is of beautiful red
texture, solid, tender and juicy. This
makes them desired by the best custom
ers, who are looking for meat to suit
their taste, and they are willing to pay
for being suited. Their muscles are
free from the whitish green tissue that
is found so often in other beef. They
are decidedly the most kindly disposed
of all cattle and are seldom known to
harm man or other animals, as are some
others. One reason for this is that they
have been handled by the composed
Englishman for three hundred years,
who selects only calm and docile animals
for breeding; and his bulls are never
allowed to run with the herd at large as
the>b bulls of other breeds often are.
They are of beautiful color and have
soft, velvety coats aud skin, admired by
all who see them. They take on fat
readily and can be- marketed as "baby
beef, if one wishes to do so.
The shorthorns are perfect hustlers
and will thrive on almost any kind OF
pasture. In hot weather they will I'LL
themselves quickly and then lie down to
ruminate and convert the food into beer
and milk. They are perfectly hardy and
can take care of themselves in al kinds
of weather, as | have often seen them DO
in the extreme Northwest.
While not a milk herd, many OF the
cows are good mixers, and produce an
excellent quality of milk and butter.
They are also kind and gentle and per-
fectly safe to be MIXED and handled by
women and small children. Then when
they have outlived their usefulness as
mixers, they are the easiest animals 10
fatten that are known to man, and
their corpulence often prevents them
from giving good flow of milk: Ihere-
fore, taking it all together, think that
the Shorthorn is by far the most pront-
able breed for any farmer who wants 10
breed for profit alone. Good specimens
for breeding can be found everywhere at
reasonable coSt.-Cor. in Tribune