Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1920 — FARM STOCK [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM STOCK

SCRUBS BEING CLEANED OUT West Virginia Stockmen Making Vigorous Effort to Drive Out All Scrub Bulls. (Prepared by the United States Department ot Agriculture.) West Virginia—largely regarded as a mineral-producing state —is on the war-puth to increase beef cattle production mid its output of dairy protfucts by eradicating scrub bulls, which are primary offenders hgainst profitable mid progressive live stock husWithin a few months parts of West Virginia where the campaign is most active expect to round out a clean-up which will eliminate the scrub bulls mid leave the purebreds as monarchs of all they survey. The case of Roane county, W. Va., Is an example of what West Virginia stockmen accomplish when they go over the top. The live stock specialists of the State agricultural college, the county agent and officers of the Roane county farm bureau have solidly backed up the scrub sire clean-up. /‘Not a single man turned us down,” remarked the live stock specialist in telling how the campaign to oust the scrubs was conducted. “The first of the year our local stockmen made a declaration of independence against scrub bulls, and work was begun promptly in taking a thorough bull census. This investigation of sire ancestry showed that there were 200 bulls in the county, of which 102 were misfit grades and scrubs, while 98 were registered pure-breds. There were 57 registered Herefords, 28 registered Angus, and 13 registered Shorthorns. Fortunately, the army of 102 grades and scrubs was not as formidable as it looked on the paper, because 60 of these low grade sires were yearlings. Furthermore, the census showed that there were only 30 men who actually made a practice of keeping a scrub bull.” . By correspondence and personal contact with farmers the state live stock agent and the county agent waged the battle. These men toured the county day after day visiting the scrub bull owners, holding meetings, and request-

mg influential farmers to assist in delegating the scrub sires ipto the livestock scrap heap. In the main the scrub bull qwners, once they learned the purpose of the campaign, and once

they appreciated the benefits which would result if they substituted purebred sires for the mongrels, were glad to dispose of their inferior herd-head-ers. Detailed figures showing the increased value of calves sired by purebreds over calves of scrub parentage were particularly convincing in gaining*converts. Most of the scrub bull owners were prompt in admitting the error of their live-stock raising ways. The Roane county bAnks have aided the movement to replace poor bulls with good ones. Every bank in the county has offered to lend money at 5 per c,ent to farmers for the purpose of purchasing pure-bred sires as substitutes for their scrubs.

A Typical “Native” Scrub Bull, an Obctacle to Progress in Live Stock Improvement.