CHAPTER XIII 

 DEVELOPMENT 



THE qualities which an animal possesses are due in 

 the first place to inheritance and in the second place to 

 the manner in which the inherited qualities have been 

 developed. An animal cannot develop beyond the capaci- 

 ties which have come to it through the germ-plasm. It 

 is also true that the capacities which are inherited cannot 

 benefit the individual unless they are developed through 

 a favorable environment. It is seldom that an animal 

 realizes fully the possibilities for development which are 

 inherent in the germ-plasm. The carefully bred beef 

 animal inheriting those valuable qualities of early ma- 

 turity, broad, deep and rounded form, rugged constitution 

 and quiet temperament, with a distinct tendency to lay 

 on fat when food is abundant, may completely fail to 

 exhibit these inborn characters and actually display the 

 form and characteristics of the unimproved animal if it 

 has been surrounded by conditions which are unfavor- 

 able for the development of these special qualities. The 

 highly improved dairy cow with the inherited capacity 

 to produce enormous quantities of milk and butter may 

 never rise above mediocrity if she is not supplied with 

 food and her milking functions intelligently developed. 

 In the selection of animals for improvement, the skillful 

 breeder can never know what results he has achieved 

 until the products of his skill have been fully developed. 



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