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Show I - n 'USEFUL HINTS TO BUYERS. . It,is always a time to learn lessons I when old established herds arc dis persed, as it is then seen what the special aim of the individual breeder has been and what type he has chiefly I been associated with. At a dispcr- 6ion sale, purchasers who afc forming new herds arc well advised if they I carefully note the grouping of various I families in the catalogue, or follow the line of breeding which has chiefly contributed in the manufacture of the 1 bast specimens in the herd, says Mr. 1 John Hill, an English authority. It is usual for men to buy at random a j few of the best-looking cattle and think by taking them hom'c and mating mat-ing them with any bull which they may happen to have, although he be himself of groat merit in form and blood, they arc certain of having first-class first-class produce. The chances arc that disappointment will follow, although of course some men have what is called luck, and the cross with the new purchases may "hit." The advice that can be offered to beginners is to go carefully through th'c iicrd and mark the best animals of the different ages, and then go and look out their dams. It is often that the best breeders in a herd arc overlooked; over-looked; probably their maternal duties du-ties have taken away something of their natural bloom and wealth of flesh, and the value of these priceless matrons is unrecognized by the novice'. nov-ice'. TJic "old hands," on the contrary, con-trary, are on the alert, and pick up the bargains which the best breeders usually turn out to.bc. It docs not at all fdllow that the best-looking 1 females arc the best breeders I mean from a showman's point of view. If it were so, breeding would become a certainty. "Like produces like" is the theory, but unfortunately it is not al-I al-I ways carried out in practice. It is ! here that the inborn talent of the j breeder comes in; he knows in some i mysterious way that such and such animals are likely, when mated together, to-gether, to produce what he wants, and he works out his ideas to a successful suc-cessful issue. There is something in a cow which i tells an experienced man that she h I likefly to be a good breeder. In a Hereford you would look for a nice feminine character, a mild, expressive eye, nicely turned horns, rather of an I up-turning curve for choice, well sprung ribs, good back and lengthy quarters, roomy body, and well dc vcloped udder. She may be a trifle small and what some would call mean in her general appearance, and perhaps per-haps somevhat light ir. the fore quarter quar-ter and neck, but, if she is handled, you will find that her "touch" is per- fection, that her hide will fill your hand, and that she is covered with ', an ample coat of hair, or with undc niablc evidence of having such before the winter days require it. If such a cow as this is found in an old-cs- i tablished herd, and is also found to be the dam of some of the plums among the youngest animals, the wise man will keep on bidding as long as his purse will permit him. Another , question there is to bi considered is, ' Do you want to breed 'bulls or females? fe-males? Note carefully the dams of the best bulls. Cows that can breed them arc few r.nd far between; and bulls that arc sires of good bulls arc scarcer still. With some such thoughts as these, the careful buyer will attend a dispersion sale. |