92 LIVESTOCK ON T1IK FARM 



If the livestock breeder cannot produce and sell animals like 

 this he is not fulfilling his mission, or else he is selling his ani- 

 mals at too high a price. Thus there is a place, and a good 

 place, for both the livestock breeder and the livestock farmer. 

 The part that one's ability as a judge plays in successful 

 livestock breeding is nicely brought out by W. E. Spicer 

 in the Breeders' Gazette of Sept. 7, 1916. He says: 



"To be a judge of animals is not only the first but it is also the most 

 important qualification of the master breeder and improver of livestock. 

 I care not what other qualifications and advantages a man may possess, 

 if he is lacking in this one respect, he is a failure as a breeder, so far 

 as improvement of the breed is concerned. Every other qualification is 

 subordinate to this one faculty. To judge is like a chord, a prelude to a 

 masterpiece. A man should be receptive as well as creative to be :i 

 success. To attain these higher rungs of the ladder one must have both 

 ability and application to get above mediocrity. 



"It is said that Raphael, the great painter, was once asked to define 

 art in a single sentence. He spent a year in endeavoring to encompass 

 that great proposition in one sentence. Finally he evolved this: 'Art 

 consists in the ability to see.' It applies to the common things of life as 

 well as to the greatest efforts. If the eye does not see the picture before 

 it is painted the hand will never paint it. Without the ability to see 

 the meaning of the things he does, a man is robbed of half his power and a 

 large portion of his reward. To define the art of judging, it consists 

 simply in an ability to see. 



"Every one of us is responsible for his voluntary acts. Then the 

 quality of one's herds reveals his ability as a judge. It is infallible evi- 

 dence of his ability as a judge. A man to be a successful improver of a 

 breed of animals must be able to see beyond the surface of things. He 

 must know not only the strength, but he must also know the weakness of 

 the animals he has in hand. Such a man must possess a deep sense of 

 penetration into the knowledge of animal nature and the powers of re- 

 production, and must be a student of nature's laws that govern and in- 

 fluence the offspring. He will be a man of keen observation and thought, 

 and a seeker after truth and knowledge. Every animal has its individu- 

 ality. Its character is indelibly stamped on it, an infallible guide to the 

 man who can read the indicator correctly. And every great improver 

 of domestic animals has had this faculty strongly developed. But few 

 men are blessed by nature with an endowment of this faculty. Right 

 here is the stumbling block, which amounts to a stone wall which most 

 breeders never surmount their inability to see and read correctly the 

 indicator on their animals. While I do not wish to discourage anyone, 

 it is useless to hope to reach any great degree of success above mediocrity 

 without this ability to see. 



"As to the impartial and fairly competent judge, you may give him 



