536 



The Journal of Heredity 



Morgan, with certain reservations as to 

 the other ancestors ; while until recently 

 the American Saddle Horse Association 

 was ready to receive animals from 

 whatever source or breeding as bona 

 fide breed members if they were able 

 to successfully execute five distinct 

 gaits under the saddle. Furthermore, 

 animals which themselves had never 

 traveled under the saddle, but had 

 produced several "performers," were 

 eligible. 



TWINS OF DIFFERENT BREEDS 



The above cases are examples of 

 animals with very slight degree of 

 kinship belonging to the same breed, 

 but the opposite may also be true. 

 That is, animals with "100% the same 

 breeding" ma\' belong to sei)arate 

 breeds. We will again choose an illus- 

 tration from the Shorthorn breed. 

 Two animals may have the same sire 

 and the same dam, and yet one will be 

 registered in the Polled Durham herd 

 book, while the other will be limited to 

 the Shorthorn registry. It might easily 

 happen that two calves would be 

 actually born as twins and yet these two 

 animals would be known and referred 

 to throughout their lives as members of 

 two distinct so-called "breeds." 



It wiU' be said that the Leicesters are 

 grou]3ed together in this country for 

 purely economic reasons; that the 

 American saddle horse is merely re- 

 peating the historic stages of every new 

 breed in opening its books so wide; 

 that livestock men when "pinned down" 

 will confess the Polled Durham to be 

 simply a sub-breed ; and that the Poland 

 China breeders are privileged to draw 

 up whatever rules they choose in 

 regulating their own registration. 



The above comments are true in 

 every case, but the situation remains 

 unchanged. It is simply the usage of 

 the word breed which has been called to 

 account in the above paragraphs and 

 not the usefulness of the boundary lines 

 which breeders have set up Vjetween the 

 different groups of animals. With the 

 latter, the writer does not here take 

 issue. It is plain, however, that mere 

 statements to the effect that two animals 



arc members of the same breed, or that 

 two other animals belong to different 

 breeds, have very little value in them- 

 selves as means of describing the like- 

 ness or unlikeness in type or kinship of 

 the two animals. It is further necessary 

 to know just what breed or breeds are 

 referred to before one can form an idea 

 of the degree of difference or similarity 

 to be expected between the two animals. 



The word breed has no biological 

 meaning; it is bandied about by different 

 classes of men in different places in the 

 world without uniform regard to either 

 type or kinship of the animals referred 

 to. Its whole meaning is entirely 

 dependent on the action of the rules 

 committee of the breed association. A 

 breed is whatever the breeders want to 

 call it, there are no natural boundaries, 

 and no arbitrary ones that are uni- 

 versally accepted. 



.4 breed is a group oj domestic animals, 

 termed svich by common consent of the 

 breeders, and in formulating a universal 

 definition no person can go very much 

 further without usurping a right which 

 is not justly his. 



WHAT PURE-BRED MEANS 



The significance of the derivative, 

 pure-bred, may well be considered at 

 this time. When a group of animals 

 becomes sufficiently set off to be called 

 by common consent a breed, a nimiber 

 of breeders unite themselves into an 

 association. A charter is secured from 

 the Government, a breed record or 

 register is established, and rules of 

 eligibility for entr\' into the same arc 

 set down in the 1)y-laws. Thus the 

 breed is definitely delimited and from 

 this time, but not before this time, the 

 term pure-bred can be correctly and 

 safely ai:)plied to individual specimens. 

 There is no natural boundary and 

 breeders must await the arbitrary and 

 official one. A pure-bred is an animal 

 entered or eligible to entry in the associa- 

 tion books, or descended from such 

 animals. 



The history of the Percheron breed of 

 horses is interesting in this connection. 

 Draft horses from France were early 

 im]M)rte(l into this country and in 1<S76 



