304 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mr, Walter Quick: As Mr. Robbins has said, a number of the breeders 

 have tabulated the pedi^-ees of their cattle. We had a little experience 

 with our first tabulations. We thought there was just as much impor- 

 tance appertaining to the sire's side of the pedigree as there was to the 

 dam's side. Consequently we did not give any more importance in our 

 tabulation to the dam's ^ide, whiclf was the lower half of the tabulation, 

 than to the sire's side. In other words, we did not say "tracing from 

 imixtrted Young Mai-y," on the lower half of the tabulation, leaving it 

 as we do the upper or sire's side of the tabulation. The question was put 

 to us time and again, "What family does this animal belong to?" We 

 would tell them they could find out the family when they got the certified 

 copy. Of course we could give the family name, but they would say 

 they might not remember that. It would seem, therefore, that the initia- 

 tive must be taken l)y the American Association. It can not be otherwise. 

 It may be I am putting it a little strong to say initiative, because the 

 initiative necessarily must come from the stockholders and the breeders, 

 possibly from such associations as this. If this association should pass a 

 resolution voting that it is the sense of the members that the pedigrees 

 be printed in the future as Colonel Harris has suggested, it would have its 

 weight, and if every other state association would do the same thing 

 it would have still more weight. You can understand why the Messrs. 

 Robbins have printed their catalogues with two pedigi-ees. On the one 

 side is the tabulated pedigree, and on the other a pedigi-ee which gives 

 only half of the breeding. If you study a tabulated pedigree you will 

 find there is only about one-eighth the animals in the five generations 

 mentioned. In the ordinary pedigree, which is not neai-ly so complete, 

 it seems the buyers, especially the beginners, find great satisfaction. That 

 has caused us to feel that perhaps we made a mistake in not printing 

 double catalogues. We ha^e printed our fourth catalogue with all the 

 pedigrees tabulated, and we shall follow that plan. I don't know how 

 soon we can drop the fact that the female side traces to a certain im- 

 ported cow, but probably not until the Herd Book stops tracing to So 

 and So. 



Chairman Christian: We have the President of the American Asso- 

 ciation here, and would like to hear from him. 



Mr. S. F. Lockridge: Colonel Harris's views are my views on this 

 subject. We served a long while ago on the board, and discussed this 

 question and various others, on which we iisually agreed. This matter 

 that you speak of has often been up before, and has been discussed by 

 other breeders. There are some difliculties in the way of getting a true 

 •ystem of breeding. I think It will be very obvious to you that the 

 tabulated form could not be accepted because of the space it would take. 

 We publish anywhere from fifty to seventy-five thousand pedigrees a 

 year. We have to make each pedigree as short as possible, and refer to 



