In popular farm magazines, book farmers like Oliver Kelley learned that their cattle should be shaped like a brick and as sleek as a trout. This Shorthorn or Durham cow represents that ideal.

Back when Oliver Kelley founded the National Grange, farmers didn't realize that scientific breeding practices could improve the growth and production of farm livestock. This "unimproved cow" is an example of a poor farm animal. The Grange tried to teach farmers to improve their herds by fencing in livestock to prevent them from breeding with unimproved animals. By selectively breeding the best livestock, improvements in farm animals were made.