CATTLE 331 



England, an animal that is fifteen-sixteenths Shorthorn 

 is eligible to record. It is very doubtful whether any 

 harm comes of this practice; but it is rather absurd for 

 us to import such animals, when we refuse to record 

 our own high grades with an equal amount of Shorthorn 

 blood. 



Any animal that is eligible to record in a herdbook 

 is called a pure-blood or thoroughbred. The latter word 

 used to be applied to a particular type of running horses, 

 but it is now commonly used to mean any pure-bred 

 animal. A cross between a pure-bred animal and com- 

 mon stock is called a grade. If an animal is three-quarters 

 or more of one breed, it is called a high-grade. An animal 

 that is a cross between two pure-bred animals of different 

 breeds is called a cross-bred animal. 



293. Value of Pedigrees. Pure-bred animals are valu- 

 able, because when bred with common mixed stock they 

 are usually able to impress their characters on the off- 

 spring, they are prepotent. They have been bred to a 

 single type so long that their characters are more firmly 

 fixed, and they are usually able to overcome the less 

 stable characters of common stock. Many grade animals 

 are as good as pure-bred ones except that they are not 

 so likely to transmit their good qualities. (See Mendel's 

 law, page 19.) 



Not every animal with a pedigree is worth keeping. 

 The individual should be a good one and should have good 

 ancestors for two or three generations. Previous ances- 

 tors are of much less consequence. Too often we have 

 paid high prices for animals simply because they carried 

 a pedigree. A pedigree in itself is merely a record of 



