Oxford Democrat., 1911-08-01
A Narrow Minded Breeder.
THE HoLsTEIN ASSOCIATION ADVISED TO
ADOPT A RESTRICTIVE POLICY.

have recently been reading some O
the addresses aud discussions at the las
meeting Of the United States Association
of Holstein Breeders of America, held Al
syracuse. One enthusiastic breeder OF
Holsteins, speaking of the surplus bulls
that breeders may have, said: "Thous
ands of our surplus bulls are sold eacf
year TO persons who are engaged II
breeding up their herds. This practices
has heretofore received the approval OF
large portion of our membership, but
believe il should be discouraged. We
could better afford to spend $4,000 q
year to veal these creatures, and II
could control would not let pure bred
bull serve an unregistered COW. This is
a penny wise and pound foolish prac-
tice."
Now, ask all reasonable men who
read this to say whether this man
know him uot) did not express about a.
much foolishness when he said what he
did az often finds its way in print. OF
what better use are pure bred animals
than to grade up the common, or no
special breed Of animals, and encourage
all animal raisers TO breed better animals
than heretofore for the purposes for
which they are Intended? What would
be the condition of our dairiss to-day
had not pure bred sires been used to
grade them up? Where would the beet
producers in this country be had no,
Poll Angus, Hereford and
other beef bred bulls been used on the
Texan and range cattle Of the west?
This government would not have had
any Beef Trust TO fight or keep under
control. Where would this country be
in the mutton and wool business had not
pure bred sires been sold from the stud
tiocks TO grade up the common tiocks OF
the country? Had not the breeders OF
pure bred swine sold boars to the owners
of the razorback or half wild hogs Of
this country less than . century ago,
where would our pork supply come
from? Lastly, where would the great
Holstein Breeders Association, with o
mem bership of upward of 4,50O, be II
they had had to depend wholly upon
selling their surplus bulls to each other?
Mighty few sales would have been the
inevitable result.
have handled few pure bred cattle
myself (not Holsteins) and some pure
bred sheep. have done some import
ing and have been on hundreds OF breed
ing farms TO study the business of breed
ing, so l don't talk altogether without
knowledge My experience has been
that when farmer buys pure bred
male and uses him on common females,
and sees his colts, calves, lambs, pigs
and chickens. be gets enthused, and be
wants a pure bred female or more than
one, with the result that the breeders OF
pure bred or stud flocks and herds have
a new customer. Thus it is that the
great livestock industries Of this great
h is being built up. Thou
sands of small flocks and herds OF pure
bred registered animals are found all
over this country where there were
hardly score of them twenty five years
ago, and thousands of profitable male
dairy herds and beef herds are profitable
to-day where they were running at a
loss, with the sheriff or the poorhouse in
sight less than half century ago, all OF
which can be traced right back to the
practice this speaker condemns.
The horse business of this country is
being thus changed, as farmers are breed
ing their ewe-neeked, cst-boned mares
TO pure bred draft, coach and carriage
stations. Go into our eastern city horse
markets to-day and you will find large
percentage Of very good horses whose
grsndmothers or great-grandmother
were mustangs running wild on the
western ranges. Good pure bred stall
lions were turned there with them, and
the offspring so surprised the owners OF
these half wild mares that more and bet
ter stations were used, and now in many
instances on the pasture that was feed
ing mustangs thirty years ago can be
seen pure bred Percherons, Clydes, Shire
or Bslgisns, and some coach and car
riage horses. Think of great associa-
tion of breeders shutting it's doors and
vealing surplus bulls! The breeders OF
all classes of pure bred stock have pros
pered, as q rule, and some have grown
wealthy, not altogether by selling sur,
plus stock to fellow breeders, but by
first selling pure bred registered males
TO common farmers at nominal prices,
thus making for themselves future
market at more advanced prices. The
tendency of all things American is to
broaden out, not contract, and no asso'
citation can live in it's shell like an oyster
and long exist-C. ID. Smsad, V. s., in
Tribune Farmer.