174 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



ate our knowledge in general regarding breeding? Do we 

 know very much about it as long as we get negative results? 

 For instance, take a certain sire, and say that ninety per cent. 

 of his progeny is excellent, I am afraid that the records would 

 show that only a very small per cent, of the greatest sires that 

 ever lived have amounted to anything. 



Prof. Shaw. I think I understand you. You are quite 

 correct now. You mean where the prepotency is maintained 

 in a remarkable degree? That is certainly true. It is rare. 

 It is easy to find it in a fair degree, but not in a remarkable 

 degree. In one case out of twenty-seven sires, I think only 

 five were remarkably prepotent, the rest were only ordinarily 

 prepotent. 



Secretary Brown. I would like to ask Professor Shaw 

 whether the result produced there is the result of theory or 

 practice. Is that the practical result which is attained? 



Prof. Shaw. Why, gentlemen, I have already told you 

 this : We began at the Minnesota station with a range ewe, 

 very common grade of sheep. The blood all mixed up. We 

 have no other animals bred quite as the range sheep are. We 

 began some experiments at the Minnesota station. We used 

 pure bred Southdown sires, the best that we could get. The 

 Southdown is a mutton sheep. In three generations we beat 

 the world at Chicago. Mark you, it was not in five generations 

 but in three, and with that kind of breeding. That shows 

 whether the theory holds good in practice. 



Mr. Phelps. I think now we are getting to the meat of 

 the whole question. The Professor made the statement that 

 in five generations he will produce a herd, by breeding graded 

 stock, which would be just as good as a thoroughbred herd. 

 I think possibly Prof. Shaw can do it, but I do not believe that 

 five per cent, of the farmers of the State of Connecticut can 

 or will do it. Now we have an instance here of a young far- 

 mer, whom I have known for a number of years, who has been 

 working to upbuild his herd. He has been breeding from Jer- 



