vi PREFACE 



will gain no whit less than the sculptor gained by a knowledge 

 of anatomy." 



The scientific breeder, however, requires something very 

 much more than a mere general knowledge of the form and 

 structure of an animal, and unfortunately for the progress of 

 this important branch of study, the necessary knowledge at 

 present hardly exists. It is, of course, true that the points or 

 characters which contribute towards making a good beef-beast 

 or a good milker and the points of all the more important breeds 

 of live-stock are definitely laid down in the text books or in 

 official works of reference. Yet of the anatomical and physio- 

 logical factors which go to constitute these points we know 

 little or nothing. And we do not know with any degree of 

 accuracy how many of these points have an inherent value in 

 virtue of possessing properties of direct economic importance, 

 as with a good shoulder, a good loin, or a well-developed leg 

 of mutton. We are still more ignorant concerning those points 

 which derive their value, whether real or imaginary, from being 

 associated with other characters which are of recognized import- 

 ance but are obscured to the superficial observer; the shape of 

 the head in the improved Shorthorn is an example of this kind. 

 And again there are almost certainly some points the value of 

 which is wholly fictitious, or at the best highly problematical; 

 these are the " fancy points " which depend simply upon caprice 

 or fashion, such as the white face of the Hereford cattle, or the 

 ruby-red coat colour of the Shorthorn, which for no palpable 

 reason is so often preferred by expert judges to the brick-red 

 colour. Where so little is known the field of investigation is 

 almost unlimited. For before scientific breeding can become 

 an assured success, it will be necessary, first, to determine 

 accurately the characters of live-stock which are of economic 

 importance (whether directly or by reason of their possessing 

 a high degree of correlation with other points which are of value) , 

 and secondly, to investigate the relative degree of utility of 

 these characters. It will next be necessary to ascertain the 

 anatomical composition of these points, and their functional 



