ATAVISM. 311 



pearance in his herd having all the characteristics of the 

 original breed. 



It is also stated on the authority of Mr. Sidney that in a 

 litter of six pigs two young ones appeared with the marks 

 of a Berkshire which had been used twenty-eight years before. 



The occasional appearance of horns or "scurs" in the polled 

 breeds of cattle, which have been pred pure for many years, 

 furnishes another example of this law. 



In early years tan color spots were common on the face 

 and legs of the Spanish Merino. These disappeared entirely 

 for many years, but at the present time many flocks are to 

 be found with these markings, no doubt the result of atavism. 



The same thing may be said of the dark noses of Shorthorn 

 cattle and the tendency for the ears of the Poland China and 

 other drooping-eared breeds to become erect. These are 

 illustrations of atavism. 



We could go on and cite hundreds of cases to illustrate 

 this law, but it is not necessary. There is no doubt but that 

 such a law is constantly in operation in animal breeding. 

 It is of vital importance to the breeder to have an under- 

 standing of this law. It simply makes the breeding of ani- 

 mals a more complicated and uncertain business. How are 

 we to know what to expect when we mate two animals? Is 

 it possible to overcome these objectionable features which 

 appear from time to time? There seems to be but one method 

 of combating this trouble, and that is by keeping a very 

 careful record of the ancestry of the animals. In fact, the 

 name and breeding alone is not sufficient. We should have 

 somewhere a complete description and history of each ani- 

 mal. If we had this back for a long period of years we might 

 then be able in a greater degree to prophesy what the progeny 

 should be. 



This emphasizes the value of the pedigree. It furnishes a 

 means of tracing the history of ancestors, for the purpose 

 of determining the characters that are liable to be trans- 

 mitted by atavic descent. That is the only means available 

 at present in most herds. In some, however, where a com- 

 plete register is kept, we are able to get much valuable in- 

 formation concerning each animal. It would be of great 

 value to our stockmen if each and every breeder kept an 

 individual record of his animals. The breeding of animals 

 is a complicated subject, thus every possible method should 

 be practiced which would simplify this problem. 



