850 A HISTORY OF SHORT-HORN CATTLE. 



ence. Fortunately for the breed the loss of 

 merit in such cases has not been rapid. In the 

 hands of skillful men the inbred tribes con- 

 tinued to produce animals of extraordinary 

 value at frequent intervals. It is true, never- 

 theless, that the zenith of Bates, Booth, Renick 

 and Cruickshank success was attained in each 

 case before the men who created the types 

 bearing those names laid down their work. 

 Their followers to this day are simply strug- 

 gling with the problem of how to sustain or re- 

 store an inbred type after it has once been in 

 full flower. All experience indicates that this 

 is a most perplexing problem. Happily, how- 

 ever, the great groups of families named re- 

 mained an honor to their creators for so many 

 years that they contributed largely to the gen- 

 eral welfare. Strongly-bred sires are usually 

 impressive; but when they impress inferiority 

 rather than actual merit, their prepotency be- 

 comes the strongest of all arguments against 

 their continued use. 



Incestuous breeding should never be at- 

 tempted by a novice, and any concentration of 

 blood is of doubtful efficacy unless pronounced 

 vigor and constitution are possessed by the ani- 

 mals to be subjected to it. 



As commonly understood by cattle-breeders, 

 in-and-in breeding is the term applied to the 

 mating of sires of certain tribes with females 



