222 



BEGINNINGS IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 



established the family, the more uniform and certain is the 

 transmission. We say that an animal, family, breed, or 

 race that transmits its special characteristics with much 

 certainty, is prepotent. This word suggests power, and 

 really means superior influence. Wild animals and birds 

 represent the purest and most prepotent breeding. They 

 live and develop under conditions that are most natural and 

 uniform, thus resulting in the least change. One wild fox 

 differs but little from other wild foxes of the same kind, in 

 form, color, and mental traits. In the opinion of most men 

 they must have had these characters for a great length of 

 time. The same thing applies to any other one species, the 

 product of wild conditions. 



The most prepotent domestic animals are those that have 

 been bred pure for long generations. A breed like Short- 



Fig. 139. A fine type of a breeding bull, showing masculinity and character. 

 Photograph By courtesy The Farmer. 



