10 Bureau of Farmers' Institutes. 



lated will surely lead to a more equitable balancing of the whole, 

 preventing the natural tendency to over or underestimate, and 

 forcing the conviction that the value of the animal lies in the 

 sum total of the value of the several parts indicated in physical 

 and mental make up. The disadvantages of this system are the 

 difficulty in making equitable mathematical calculations, deter- 

 mining the per cent, of value in each part, and measuring the 

 individualism of the individual, something not easily put on 

 paper, simply because partly intuitive. 



A perfect system for awarding prizes has not yet been devised. 

 Human intelligence has not yet compassed the whole jiroblem, 

 and certain inequalities must surely be noted; but when the neces- 

 sity for a sharper insight into the worth of parts of the great 

 machine is recognized, and the certainty that a study of parts, 

 and the relation each bears to the others, is sure to stimulate 

 the breeding of still better animals, the possibilities of the score 

 card, both as an educator and promoter of good judgment, must, 

 I believe, be admitted by all. 



The criticism made that no two judges place the same value on 

 parts has little weight, all the exhibitor at any exhibition can 

 ask being that the expert preserve an equitable ratio of values 

 in placing the awards. If another expert scores higher or lower, 

 it is no argument against the system, it simply speaks of indi- 

 vidual estimates. If on another occasion the figures are changed, 

 it onlv confirms what has already been indicated. Criticisms of 

 this class are captious, failing in that they belittle the educational 

 feature of the score card while magnifying the arbitrary ruling 

 of that method which furnishes no reason for judgment. If ex- 

 hibits at our fairs are to be maintained, and the number of exhib- 

 itors increased, this question of judging by some system which 

 will return to the individual owner full evidence of the estimate 

 of the expert upon his individual exhibit must be perfected. 

 Under the committee and comparative system the rights of ex- 

 hibitors are altogether too much ignored, the work of judging 

 is hurried, and would-be successful breeders become discouraged 

 and drop out. 



