486 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



On the contrary it was so markedly superior to the 

 others from the same cow and those from the other 

 cows by Anxiety 2238 that the eyes of these breeders 

 were opened to the possibilities which might be 

 accomplished by pursuing another course in their 

 breeding operations. 



They had already noted that Anxiety 4th himself 

 was the product of a mating of half-brother and 

 half-sister and their investigations of Hereford 

 pedigrees showed them that a number of famous 

 animals of the breed were the product of very close 

 affinities. These facts, together with the further 

 general information which they had that breeding 

 from close relations in other lines of live stock had 

 by no means proved unproductive of good results, 

 led them to think that they too might venture cau- 

 tiously within the field of close breeding and there- 

 by sooner approach their ideal in the breeding of 

 Herefords. The admonitions which they had from 

 their friends among Hereford breeders and the unr 

 favorable criticism of their course by others did not 

 deter them from following up the policy which they 

 had begun, though they did this with extreme cau- 

 tion and with some experiments in outcrosses from 

 other lines of breeding. These various outcrosses 

 through bulls from other herds were not satisfac- 

 tory, so they resorted to the plan of getting some 

 new blood from outcrosses through the dams in- 

 stead of through the sires as is usually done. This 

 they were able to do because they had in their foun- 

 dation stock so many different strains of blood. 



