No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 641 



selected two calves from which to make his choice, and put in con- 

 siderable time in studying the two animals. He weighed their good 

 points for forty-eight hours, and then went back to Miller's and told 

 him which one he had decided on. That was practicing selection for 

 all it was worth, but when a man goes into the business in that way 

 and gets results, he generally knows what he is about. 



Mv. McGentry, the Berkshire man, who has been held up all over 

 llie country for inbreeding, has not bought a boar for over twenty 

 yeai'S, and very fcAv dams. On one occasion Mr. McGentry was con- 

 sidering which of two boars to use in a certain case. He knew what 

 both these boars actually were, and yet so closely does he practice 

 this law of selection that it took hira one hour by the watch to decide 

 between two boars. There may be some doubt as to the wisdom of 

 inbreeding, but there is no doubt but that by following this law of 

 selection, he gets results. 



REPOET OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEREDITARY UNSOimD- 



NESS. 



By MR. POWELL. Chairman. 



Your Committee find that they have been given a very important 

 question as to the stallion law. It has brought many serious dif- 

 ficulties. 



As we all know, our Pennsylvania law was copied mainly from the 

 law in Wisconsin, and I notice that within a comparatively few days 

 another Western state has adopted about the same thing. 



The serious defect in the law is the certificate required. The law 

 says that the breeder or owner of the stallion shall furnish a certifi- 

 cate, signed by the Secretary or President of a registered Association. 

 Now, as a matter of fact, in many of the Associations, the certificate 

 is signed by the printer, in facsimile, and not by the President or 

 Secretary, but I think our breeders very honorably considered such 

 certificates as issued by the Association. 



Another serious defect in the law is in the classification. They 

 issue certificates to full blood, cross-bred and grades. Now, full blood 

 means something. The cross-bred don't mean anything except a mon- 

 grel, with some goods to sell. It makes a vast difference, however, 

 for what purpose a horse is bred. If you take a cross-bred horse, for 

 instance, sired by a Percheron on a registered mare of Clyde or Shire, 

 or any one of the recognized breeds, it would be all right, but if you 

 use the draft horse upon the pony, though both may be registered, 

 it would not be the same thing. In the one case you may have the 

 value; in the other, the horse should not be recognized for breeding 

 purposes. It is supposed, for instance, that you use a registered, 

 recognized horse, of the coach variety; that, crossed unon the rond 

 animal, we ixet the bpst kind of n valuable animal, although, if used 

 for breeding purposes, you could use the same coach horse upon some- 

 thing else that the lines do not run parallel with — so that the law is 

 very defective in that respect, so far as cross-breds go. 



Then, again, when you get to grades. They may be practically 

 full-bred, and by registered mares, but taken as grade. Some of them 

 may be ?A-?,2 full bred, or even 3-64, and this is preferable to many 



41— 7— 1908. 



