452 Pork Production 



This method of writing a pedigree has the merit of 

 clearly showing all the blood lines and the correct rela- 

 tion of these lines and individuals. It is always the 

 custom to place the name of the sire at the top of the 

 bracket and the name of the dam at the bottom. In 

 reading the pedigree the following method is usually 

 followed : Giant Buster was by Disher's Giant and out 

 of Big Lil by Big Wonder. The second dam was Lady 

 Lunker by Big Crow. Disher's Giant was by Big Ben 

 and out of Mammoth Giantess' Equal by Long King's 

 Equal, and so on. 



To judge accurately the value of the breeding shown in 

 a pedigree, it is essential that one have a knowledge of the 

 individual animals in the pedigree. The ability to read 

 a pedigree intelligently comes, therefore, only after 

 years of close study of breed history, involving an 

 intimate acquaintance with the leading breeders and 

 a thorough knowledge of the records of the show and 

 sale rings. 



From a breed or herd improvement standpoint, a pedi- 

 gree is good or bad according as the individuals in it are 

 good or bad. If the immediate parents are good individ- 

 uals and the grandparents are uniformly good, there is 

 sufficient reason for calling it a good pedigree. If to this 

 good individuals in the third and fourth generations are 

 added, there is a still stronger guarantee of merit. Uni- 

 formity of type among the individuals of a pedigree is 

 also of great importance, since it stands for similarity 

 of blood and is a guarantee of prepotency in the animal 

 whose pedigree is being studied. To these two points, a 

 third should be added, the records of the individuals as 

 breeders and producers. If the individuals in a pedigree 

 have the ability to produce favorable offspring as well 



