164 



CANADIAN FARM YEAR BOOK. 



and make frieiids, not enemies, of the 

 man and his neighbors. 



The burden is upon the breeders 

 and owners of pure-bred flocks and 

 herds to lead in a crusade for grading. 

 They need the market for their excess 

 of males, and if this market were fully 

 developed, and the mass of stockmen 

 fully alive to the advantages of grad- 

 ing, this market alone would aT>sorb 

 at good prices all the male output 

 from our breeding herds, — a consum- 

 mation they stand sorely in need of 

 attaining. 



The female output of our breeding 

 herds should be used, first, to reen- 

 force the home herds, and after that 

 to supply deficiencies in other reputa- 

 ble herds. Any further surplus ani- 

 mals should go to the open market, 

 except iu some rare cases in which 

 they are needed for the real founding 

 of new herds. 

 Begin Animal BreedTng by Grading. 

 Grading is the safest beginning, 

 even for the prospective breeder of 

 pure-bred stock. Not only is it cheap 

 and safe, but it will 'bring out clear 

 and strong in the grades the main 

 breed points, and a few generations of 

 grades from low to high will spread 

 out before the eyes of the breeder such 

 a panorama of breed oharacters as he 

 would not see in years of pure breed- 

 ing on a small scale; indeed, there is 

 no quicker, cheaper, or more thorough 

 way of becoming acquainted with a 

 breed than through its grades. 

 Disadvantage of Grading. 

 The only disadvantage that can be 

 mentioned is this, — that the first re- 

 sults are so eminently satisfactory 

 that some promising grade is likely to 

 be selected as a sire, regardless of the 

 law of ancestral iheredity, whereupon 

 all further improvememt stops. This 

 is so likely to be the case that it may 

 be said in general that the very success 

 of grading is the greatest guaranty of 

 its failure. 



Advantages of C-osslng. 

 Notwithstanding the operation of 

 Mendel's law as a general principle, 

 crossing is a fruitful source of new 

 strains. Hybridization is better adapt- 

 ed to plants than to animals 'because 

 of the need of vigorous selection after- 

 ward and, therefore, of relatively large 

 numlbers. It was a favorite method of 

 plant improvement twenty years ago, 



but it ihas fallen largely into disuse be- 

 cause of the inconstancy of Mendel's 

 middle term (the 50 per cent, apparent 

 hybrids) and because as good or better 

 results can often be secured by selec- 

 tion alone, without destruction of the 

 pedigree and the influence of the an- 

 cestry. 



Disadvantages of Crossing (Hybridiz- 

 ing). 

 The difficfulty of securing a iblend 

 out of a violent cross, or Indeed any- 

 thing that will breed pure, aJid the 

 great mass of long-continued and dis- 

 appointing reversions experienced, 

 have turned attention largely away 

 from this system of breeding, to <me 

 which, if less spectacular, is eminent- 

 ly safer, and, so far as we now know, 

 fully as fruitful of results. 



It is the opinion of the writer, how- 

 ever, that as we learn by experience 

 it will be found that certain races of 

 plants will lend themselves well to 

 this means of producing new varieties, 

 and that the old-time enthusiasm for 

 hybridization wHl return in these ex- 

 ceptional cases. 



Crossing is a powerful means of in- 

 ducing variability, — indeed, it is the 

 most powerful method known to 

 breeders. It is altogether too fruitful 

 of variants to be manageable In ani- 

 mal breeding, and only sheer neces- 

 sity, after all other methods have fail- 

 ed, would warrant its trial among 

 these slow-ibreeding races. 



If animals are to be hybridized It 

 can probably best be aocomplished 

 by combining, not two races simply, 

 but three or more, leaving the one 

 nearest that which is wanted untouch- 

 ed until a fairly favorable cross be- 

 tween two others has been secured. 

 Then the pure form, if bred with the 

 cross, might l>e influenced thereby, but 

 would of course remain prepotent. 

 Suoh a plan of action aims rather at 

 the modification of a breed than at 

 the creation of a new one. 



Hybrids Often Sterile. 



All degrees of productivity are 

 found in hybrids, from extreme fertil- 

 ity to absolute sterility. Some crosses 

 are more fertile than either parent. 

 Such a cross would be made readily 

 in nature. Others are absolutely or 

 nearly sterile. It is safe to assume 

 that about all the possible fertile hy- 

 brids were long ago produiced in na- 



