78 AGR1CUI.TURE OF MAINE. 



and is of great aid in grading up a herd. So marked is it that 

 many of the first generation or half hloods will resemble the 

 breed of their sire in color, markings, and conformation. 

 When they are bred the progeny will be three-quarters pure 

 blood and often are hardly distinguishable from bure-bloods. 

 If this p(.)licy of breeding is carried out with each succeeding 

 generation, the amount of alien blood is gradually eliminated 

 until in the sixth generation less than one and a half per cent 

 of the common blood remains. This amount is so small that it 

 will but selc'om show itself provided that on the sire's side a 

 ])ure-bred animal is always used. 



A mistake too often made in the process of grading up is to 

 use one of the grade males as head of the herd. Improvement 

 stops and fortunate indeed will be the breeder who is 'able to 

 maintain the standard to which he has already reached. The 

 }oung animal would have no more of the im])roved blood than 

 its sire and dam, anil the small amount of unim])roved blood in 

 each of the i)arents woukl stand a chance of being transmitted 

 and producing bad results. The breeder would say that the 

 animal was taking back, while in truth it was simply the latent 

 characteristics showing themselves as the result of the breeder's 

 carelessness. 



The statement is often made, 'T cannot afiford a pure bred 

 bull." That is not the question. It is, "Can I afford not to 

 have one?" and tlic answer is most decidedly, you can not. 

 With a herd of twenty cows, for instance, there is at least an 

 investment involved of a thousand dollars. We have conceded 

 that the sire is at least half of the herd. Does it seem right to 

 balance it with an animal worth from twenty-five to forty dol- 

 lars? An expenditure of a hundred to one hundred and fifty 

 dollars will quite often i)rocure a good individual and one whose 

 breeding is good. 



It would seem as if this was none too good an animal to 

 bocoire the sire of the heifer calves that are to be the future 

 uorkiu'^ herd. With the scrub bull as father of them, at least 

 three-quarters of the heifers will prove to be failures, so those 

 that do prove to be producers will be costly animals, and the 

 class of boarders will be enlarged. With the pure-bred sire 

 three-quarters of the calves will grow into cows at least as good 



