THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 27 



Lambs or swine purchased for feeding are seldom re- 

 tained on the farm for a longer period than four months, 

 and steers for a similar use are seldom retained for a 

 longer period than six months, but when young ewes, 

 young sows or young cows are purchased for breeding, 

 the greatly increased relative importance of care in se- 

 lecting for the latter use is at once apparent, because of 

 the years of prospective usefulness ahead of them. Young 

 horses retain utility for a longer period and, therefore, 

 still more care should be exercised in choosing these. 



The difference in the relative value of the product re- 

 sulting from different classes of animals is readily appar- 

 ent if the production of the steer is compared with the 

 labor of the horse on the farm or on the road, the latter 

 being vastly greater viewed from the standpoint of in- 

 trinsic value and of duration ; and the difference in the 

 value of animals of the same class is readily shown by 

 comparing the meat value of the young cow, slaughtered 

 at three years old, with that of her full sister, retained in 

 the dairy for years and capable of producing on an aver- 

 age 6,000 pounds of good milk in a year. Care in selecting 

 the latter is vastly more important than care in selecting 

 the former, and the same is true of the greater care and 

 skill necessary in choosing a horse for speeding than 

 when choosing one for ordinary driving. 



Type or form. The terms type and form are not quite 

 synonymous, but the distinctions between them are not 

 very wide. The latter relates more to individuality in 

 the animals and the former to breeds, sub-breeds or fam- 

 ilies within sub-breeds. The first has leference to that 

 form which is ideal for all the individuals of the breed, 

 sub-breed or family. In this respect it is inexorable. 

 The standard type is the correct type, whatever the per- 

 formance of the individual may be. But the standard 

 form is, or ought to be, that form which will bring the 

 highest results in performance. 



