THE LAMP OF EXPERIENCE. 869 



breeding. All who engage in the business are 

 anxious to acquire as quickly as possible a 

 knowledge which will enable them to deter- 

 mine the line of descent represented by any 

 given pedigree without having to undertake an 

 extended herd-book examination. In regard 

 to this we can only say there is no "short cut' 7 

 to this form of knowledge. The ability to 

 "read" at a glance any given pedigree only 

 comes as a result of years of herd-book re- 

 search. 



The division of Short-horns into families or 

 tribes is purely arbitrary, and while the exist- 

 ing system of tribal nomenclature is perhaps 

 as convenient as any that could be devised, 

 yet, as has been pointed out on page 101 of this 

 volume, it is entirely misleading so far as con- 

 veying any adequate idea of the real blood 

 elements is concerned. The family names are 

 all derived from some one or more of the 

 ancestresses in the direct maternal line. Aside 

 from cattle belonging to the Bates, Booth and 

 Cruickshank tribes, our American families of 

 Short-horns usually bear the name of the 

 imported cow to which they trace on the 

 side of the dam. Those who study the his- 

 tory of Killerby, Warlaby, Kirklevington and 

 Sittyton will soon be able to recognize pedi- 

 grees running direct to those celebrated herds. 

 There are some cattle in the American Herd 



