10 
to the extension directors of the various 
states the desirability of conducting a 
nation-wide effort to induce livestock 
owners to replace scrub and grade sires 
with pure-breds. More than that, the 
desirability of improving the quality 
of pure-bred sires themselves was pre- 
sented. In addition to consulting live- 
stock experts of the agricultural colleges, 
the Federal Department of Agriculture 
presented a tentative plan of the pro- 
posed campaign to others also, includ- 
ing county agents, agricultural editors, 
officers of livestock associations, secre- 
taries of boards of agriculture, live- 
stock sanitary officials, prominent breed- 
ers, and others who might be interested. 
Of nearly 600 replies received, approxi- 
mately 97% favored such a campaign 
without qualifications. Most of the 
remaining 3% made specific suggestions 
for modifications of the plan, and a few 
either were skeptical or presented ad- 
verse opinions. The cream of the 
suggestions, after careful consideration, 
was embodied in the original plan, 
which was also altered to meet 
various local conditions discussed in a 
number of the letters received. The 
revised plan of the campaign was 
presented in August and has met with 
practically unanimcus approval. The 
agricultural press has devoted space 
freely to the support of the work, and 
41 states already have made the cam- 
paign, popularly known as the ‘Better 
Sires-Better Stock”? movement, a part 
of their extension activities. It was 
definitely inaugurated as a _ Federal- 
State enterprise on October 1, 1919. 
Since then more than 25,000 pieces of 
literature have been distributed to 
meet requests from the field. Two- 
thirds of this constituted enrollment 
blanks, which when properly filled out 
entitle the person using only pure- 
bred sires for all his livestock to official 
recognition by the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture and by the 
state in which he lives. The remaining 
one-third was miscellaneous literature, 
including a plan of the campaign, and 
also pointing out the policies under 
which the campaign is conducted. 
As would be expected, the enrollment 
records of persons using pure-bred 
The Journal of Heredity 
sires show that a majority of them like- 
wise have some pure-bred female stock. 
A considerable amount of grade stock 
is noted, also some cross-breds. This 
condition is true in a broad sense of all 
the kinds of animals included in the 
campaign, namely, cattle, horses, asses, 
swine, sheep, goats, and poultry. The 
records show that users of pure-bred 
sires keep only a few scrub females, 
the remnant probably of the first 
foundation stock. 
FARMERS’ BULLETIN ON BREEDING 
PRINCIPLES 
Reinforcing the Federal-State effort 
to encourage the use of better sires, 
Dr. Sewall Wright, of the Animal 
Husbandry Division of the Department 
of Agriculture, has prepared a manu- 
script on breeding principles for the 
Farmers’ Bulletin series. This con- 
tribution is believed to fill an important 
gap in the agricultural literature of the 
United States, being of service not only 
to breeders directly but likewise to 
extension workers and others who 
address farmers’ gatherings. The un- 
derlying thought in the better-sires 
movement is to create in the minds of 
thousands, and, if possible, millions, 
of livestock raisers an interest in the 
basic principles of animal breeding. 
The field of improvement in livestock 
is as vast as that of mechanics. It is 
believed also that thousands of farmers 
who have an inherent preference for 
working with living things rather than 
machinery will welcome the opportunity 
to replace their fragmentary and in- 
accurate knowledge of livestock breed- 
ing with the dependable information 
contained in the bulletin menticned. 
Thus heredity, in addition to being a 
study calling for keen effort by those 
who would solve its mysteries, beccmes 
an effective agency when presented and 
explained to those who as owners of 
livestock are expected to supply the 
food needs of the country. 
Members of the American Genetic 
Association may render wide public 
service by helping breeders assimilate 
and apply principles of heredity already 
known but not generally used. 
