178 . BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



from such an animal as long as the animal did not endanger 

 somebody's life. It goes to show that such a sire has the right 

 kind of vigor, such as I have been talking about. I do not like 

 inherited viciousness, and would not recommend breeding from 

 such a bull. 



Mr. Phelps. Are not some of the very best sires vicious 

 sires ? 



Prof. Shaw. Yes sir, they are. 



Mr. Sedgwick. In breeding thoroughbreds, why do we 

 get such a lack of uniformity in milk production among heifers 

 of a given strain of blood ? I have two three-year-old heifers, 

 who are from two cows who are sisters by the same bull. The 

 mothers are both what you might call smaller than the average 

 as milkers. Both of these heifers came in about the same time 

 and looked very much alike. One of them dried out at the 

 end of three or four months. She did not hold out well in her 

 milk at all. The other one continued for a year, and shows a 

 tendency to a large yield or flow of milk still. 



Now one thing further. I have bred Holstein cattle for the 

 last twenty-five years, and I have noticed that same thing in 

 thoroughbreds all the way along the line. It is an exceptiori 

 when you get an extra good heifer from among them. Why 

 is that ? 



Prof. Shaw. There is no man in the United States that 

 can answer that question. We simply have to recognize the 

 fact. It is the outcome of the working of the law of variation, 

 but why it is an outcome of the law of variation we cannot be 

 quite sure. It may arise from the food, to some extent, or it 

 may arise from exposure. From elements of that kind. 



Mr. Sedgwick. I have had precisely the same result from 

 breeding what you might call scrubs ; from these old red cattle 

 of Connecticut. It seems to be impossible to get a uniform 

 type that will increase the milk product in all instances. 



Prof. Shaw. You cannot get any class of animals that will 

 be uniform in producing good performances. There will al- 



