Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-04-21
ABERDEEN ANGUS CATTLE HAVE
MADE AN EXCELLENT
RECORD.
Herds of This Breed to be Drawn
Upon for Big Combination Sale At
Bloomfield April 81 = Something Of
the Stock and Its Value in Money.

| -, " VdlldcG anu ftdINGy q
Clelland, near this city, your cores
| pondent has taken the pains to look in
to the history of the Angus breed of
cattle, which is kept exclusively by
these two firms Of breeders, whose
nerds will be drawn upon for big
combination sale in this city on April
~ This wonderful stock has indeed
splendid record, no small part of
which is that during the four interna-
tlonal expositions held at Chicago the
records show that there have been sold
at the union stock yards there 261 car
loads of fat cattle, of which 1913 car
loads, or nearly one-half the entire
number, were graded Aberdeen Angus
| cattle and sold for an average price of
! S7O9 per hundred weight Eighty-one
car loads were Hereford grades and
| sold for an average of $685. per hun
dred, and f1fty-seven cars were short
horn grades and sold for an average
price Of 1888.
Three out of four of the grand cham
pion dressed prizes of this show have
been awarded to the Aberdeen Angus
and their grades and for fourteen years
this breed has topped the Christmas
Taking these facts into considera-
ton and also the facts that land has
advanced in value to a high mark, .
said a well known farmer today. "I
think it is advisable for land owners
and tenants to lay aside all prejudice
and produce the stock that brings in
return the most dollars. The past fiji
teen years have wrought a complete
revelation in more than one phase Of
the cattle trade. 1t used to be the steer
that was OF the ponderous weight, say
from 1000 to 5000 pounds or more,
brought the highest price regardless of
the amount Of edible meat he would
net when put on the block Now to be
a winner it is different They must
show a very small per cent of waste
and carcass that when put on the
block, will please the consumer, and
to do that, the fat and lean must be
well marbled and not the fat in great
rolls, me-. NY Just under the skin
where it presents SIC ~ AID nause-
ating appearance to the consumers.
Then the feeders. shippers, and ex-
porters have united in an almost uni
versal demand that hornless steers be
L udL uCluduu 10 DSliSo
met and we must continue to meet it
with cattle that are naturally hornless
or cattle that have. been dehorned. If
we wish, we may breed cattle with
horns two or three feet long, but ev-
cry man, whose eyes are not blinded
by the cobwebs of prejudice, stands
ready to admit that pair of horns is
of no more use to a steer than third
pair of legs and that they are vastly
more productive of harmful results,
hence they must come off before the
feeder has use for the stock. There
are good individual cattle and good
breeds of cattle with horns, but no
horned breed of cattle is so good but
it would be better if it were hornless.
An appreciation of this fact has re-
suited in effort to establish the poll
ed characteristic in both the short-horn
and Hereford. In the case of the for
mer, they have been successful, but
the chief barrier is the reluctance of
the old time breeders to depart from
the old time standard, (the horns.).
with the Aberdeen Angus, howev-
err, the hornless feature has been firm
ly implanted for ages so firmly, that
single cross of Angus blood practic-
ally does away with the horn question
forever, regardless of what they are in
color and form as well. The process
of dehorning is at present necessary
evil-a cruelty that is necessary in Or
der to prevent greater cruelty, but it
need not remain so.
Angus breeders are prepared to
furnish and are furnishing cattle that
make good weights at any age, from
six months to three years, fatten read
lily and quickly at any age and sell al
ways at the top of the market.
II have made mention of the mar
ket topping proclivities of the Angus
let us consider for moment why they
do it. 1t is not simply that they be-
long to one breed and not to another.
Those who create the markets are not
followers of fads, nor are they sway
ed by mere fancy. They do not pay
out their money without value receiv-
ed
why then, do they do it? There
are several reasons. Prominent among
these, is the fact that they generally
furnish larger per cent OF net weight
and the carcass cuts up with less
waste. The well fattened Angus does
not take on his fat chiefly on the out
side, nor is it taken on in great rolls
and patches, as in other breeds, but
smooth even carcass is furnished
with fat and lean nicely marbled. A
moments thought will convince any
one that these rolls of fat and blubber
must be trimmed off and thrown aside
before the discriminate consumer will
pay top prices for the product"
Mr.. O. D. Wray Of this city, who is
interested in this breed of cattle said:
Angus cattle, as the last of the
| three leading breeds of beef cattle
constituting the great trio introduced
in this country, have been compelled
to face and dispel the combined antag-
onism of the other cattle interests.
So successfully have they met every
requirement, both in the feed lot and
on the block. that it needs only the
records of the fat stock shows and the
universal opinions Of the discriminat-
ing meat eating public to substantiate
what is said in the foregoing, and If
anyone interested in the cattle indus
try will go to Bloomfield, they can see
two of among the largest and Oldest
established herds of Aberdeen Angus
cattle of the state and az good as the