Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1908-03-19
COMMUNITY STOCK BREEDING
Director French, Of Idaho Experiment
Station, an Ardent Advocate.

Station, an Ardent Advocate.
BY II. T. French. Director Idaho Experiment
| Station. Moscow.
The stock breeder Is often seriously
handicapped in his work by the more
or less complete isolation Of his work.
T zig is especially true in the West
where many sections are not as thickly
settled as the older portions of the
country. Sometimes this condition is
due to mistaken attitude on the part
OF the breeder-a tendency whicn is
quite natural to men who are not accus-
toned to organized. effort in accom-
plishing given object. l refer to the
quite prevalent whim that if several
, men engage in the same business the
| work will be over. done, and the mar
ket for the products destroyed or seri-
ously impaired. In no department OF
agriculture is this condition less likely
to prevail than in the production of
pure bred or even well bred live stock.
The more animals of merit produced in
any given locality, the greater likeli-
hood OF better market, owing to the
f.ct that often few superior animals.
even, are not sufficient to attract the
interest of the p, ospective buyer. The |
buyer which the stock breeder wishes |
to interest is the man who is looking
for several head, car load, or perhaps |
several carloads, of animals at one
time. Any one who has attempted to
look up carload Of cattle of any par
ticular type or breed, can we'll under.
stand how difficult it is to find the de-
sired number of suitable animals in
anv one lccality; and in case the ami
mails have TO be selected from remote
herds what vexing problem it is to
assemble the animals at any given
point for shipment. Now if number
OF farmers in any given locality would
ali agree to breed the came kind of
livestock, then it might be possible for
a buyer to get the entire lot desired
from that particular section.
Another important point in favor Of
community breeding would be the op-
portunity offered for comparison. When
a breeder is isolated from other men
who are handling the same hind Of
etock. he may not have the opportunity
to check up his stock to see if the de-
sirable points are being brought out as
they should be. Some important char =
acteristics may be overlooked unless
there is some standard of excellence r
available, with which to compare his :
own results.
One of the most serious hindrances to
the improvement of the breeds of live
stock in the West, is the difficulty in
securing new blood when it should be
introduced. Several individual cases
have come under our observation where
1 splendid foundation was allowed to
run out, through too close breeding,
which could not be avoided, except at
great expense and trouble in securing
1ew blood from remote sections of the
country.
The question of feed and care could
oe much better solved in any given
if dozen men were hand
ing the same kinds of live stock, rather
han dozen different types and breeds.
These ideas are being put into actual
practice in some sections Of the Missis-
ippi valley, and if needed there, where
he country is densely populated, it is
oubly important in the Pacific North
vest, where farmers have not many Of
he conveniences Of transportation
nd rapid communication that are en-
Dyed in the more densely populated
ections of the country.