SIXTH ANJNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VII. 473 



greater degree, in Si'otland where the Clydesdale breed predominates and 

 has been developed to a high state of purity, breed, character, and utility. 

 On the contrary, if we examine the average team horses of Milwaukee 

 or Chicago, we shall see every possible type and character represented and 

 plain evidences of mixed breeding, careless selection and incomplete 

 nutrition. , 



In addition to what has been said, relative to uniformity and persist- 

 ency in horse-breeding in Canada and Scotland, it may be added that the 

 district of La Perche, in France, has become famous throughout the world 

 for one breed of horses — the Percheron, so true to type and of such marked 

 breed prepotency. Belgium also furnishes a well-developed and perfected 

 draft breed, and certain districts in England are famous for their ponder- 

 ous, pure-bred, prepotent Shire horses. These breeds, and all of the 

 others described elsewhere in this bulletin, have resulted from the meth- 

 ods of breeding here advocated and they prove indubitably that the 

 practice of such methods can but prove satisfactory and profit- 

 able. We have originated and perfected the American trotter by similar 

 means and might have bred up to purity with every one of the breeds 

 utilized with the intention of improving our horse stock, but largely with 

 the effect of increasing the numbers and imperfections of our hosts of 

 nondescripts and mongrels. Need it be added that is it high time to 

 follow the example set by those breeders to whom we owe our pure breeds 

 of horses and by like methods, persistently and intelligently followevi, 

 make Wisconsin celebrated for the uniform and general production of 

 horses of distinct varieties, practically pure blood and eminently useful 

 and profitable qualities. 



GBADE SIKES OBJECTIONABLE. 



In the process of "grading up" the first progeny, from the mating 

 of a pure-bred sire and a native or "scrub" mare, is a half-blood, the 

 second cross one-quarter, the, third, one-eighth, the fourth, one-sixteenth 

 and the fifth, one-thirty-secoud. The fifth cross is thus shown to pos- 

 sess very little of the original blood of the native or scrub dam and it 

 may have all or most of the breed characteristics of the sires used. In 

 some instances less than five top-crosses of pure blood will be necessary 

 to stamp upon the progeny the breed characteristics of the sires and, 

 indeed, there are some cases where the colt of a native or scrub mare of 

 good character looks almost if not quite, as perfect in form and quality 

 as his pure-bred sire. This fact demonstrates the prepotency of the 

 sire — that power which a pure-bred animal, from a long line of pure-bred 

 sires and dams, has of transmitting to his progeny his breed character- 

 istics and individual character, traits and quality with a great degree of 

 certainly. It is prepotency of breed that makes it possible for an Aber- 

 deen-Angus or Galloway polled, black bull to beget a large proportion of 

 black, polled calves from different colored, horned "scrub" or native 

 cows. It is this prepotency that enables the individual bull or stallion to 

 transmit not only his breed characteristics but his individual excellence 



