PROGRESSIVE BEEF CATTLE RAISING 



are again mated, on the average three quarters of the 

 traits inherited will be Hereford, and one quarter "piney- 

 woods." This does not mean that any single individual 

 is three-fourths Hereford, but only that the average of 

 all characters in that generation is three-fourths Here- 

 ford. As a matter of fact it is possible, although not 

 probable, that some animals of the second cross might 

 have entirely Hereford characters, with a similar number 

 only half Hereford, and with the others intergrading be- 

 tween, but the average would still be three-quarters 

 Hereford or 75 percent. By continuing the use of Here- 

 ford bulls for several generations, the proportion of Here- 

 ford characters would be increased, while some of the 

 characters would be pure Hereford, beginning with the 

 second cross. The proportion of these pure characters 

 would increase with each generation although not as 

 rapidly as the total number of Hereford characters. The 

 more that Hereford sires are used, the more likely the 

 resulting grade dams will transmit Hereford traits, and 

 the purer the characters of the new generations of calves 

 will be. The average rate of increase in these characters 

 is shown in the following table: 



One cross 50% Hereford traits. 



Two crosses 75% Hereford traits. 



Three crosses 87.5% Hereford traits. 



Four crosses 93-75% Hereford traits. 



Five crosses 96.875% Hereford traits. 



Six crosses 98.4375% Hereford traits 



And so on, each additional cross producing animals 

 having a proportion of Hereford characters half way 

 between the last generation and 100 percent. This does 

 not apply to Herefords only but to any improved breed 

 of livestock. Herefords are used simply for illustrative 

 purposes. Some breeds seem to be more potent in trans- 

 mitting their characters than others, but this is due to 

 their possession of more noticeable characters than the 



Page Seventeen 



