CHAPTER XXXV 

 SOME TERMS USED IN LIVE STOCK BREEDING 



In the breeding of live stock there are many terms and 

 expressions used by stockmen which are not well understood 

 by persons not engaged in such work. A few of these expres- 

 sions will be briefly explained in this chapter. 



Heredity. — It is a common saying that like begets like, by 

 which is meant that the offspring will inherit the qualities 

 of the parents. If they are good animals and of good breed- 

 ing the offspring is likely to be a good animal also. For ex- 

 ample, if the sire or dam has a spavin, the colt will inherit 

 a weak hock which will make probable the development of 

 a spavin in it; or if one or both of the parents are vicious, the 

 offspring will probably show the same characteristics. We 

 may say, then, that heredity refers to the passing on to the 

 offspring of qualities possessed by the parents. 



Atavism. — This means a tendency for the offspring to be 

 like the earlier types of the breed. It is best explained by an 

 example. Angus cattle are now black in color, but in the 

 earlier history of the breed many animals were red. It some- 

 times happens that in pure-bred Angus herds a calf is born 

 which is red in color, thus reverting to the earlier type. 

 The same thing frequently occurs in Berkshire hogs. Pigs 

 are farrowed with red hair in their coats, which doubtless 

 comes from the color of earlier types. These examples serve 



272 



