50 THE HORSE 



stock. From time to time animals with some superior 

 characteristics are selected from the nascent variety, and 

 these are inbred for a time, producing a variety which 

 may develop into a breed. Again, a family may be 

 formed within the breed by selection and inbreeding. 

 For instance, the breed of Shorthorn cattle contains 

 several quite noted families, such as the Duchess and 

 the Waterloo. The term "tribe" is sometimes used 

 instead of "family" in this connection. A small group 

 of animals which have been improved but have not 

 yet : taken on all of the fixed characteristics of a breed 

 should be called a "variety." Under skilful man- 

 agement it may, and usually does, ripen into a breed. 

 When the breeders of a group or variety decide that 

 the distinctive characteristics are reasonably well fixed, 

 they publish what is known of the breeding of the 

 better animals of this variety in a first volume of a 

 stud-book, herd- or flock-book, and thus the breed 

 makes it official appearance. In the United States 

 and Canada there are now published by the various 

 livestock registry associations twenty -one pedigree 

 records of horses, twenty-five of cattle, thirty-one of 

 sheep and twenty-two of swine. A volume for each 

 breed is usually published annually. (See Appendix, 

 for further information.) 



It will readily be seen that when the attempt is made 

 to launch a breed and establish a record of genealogy, 

 or pedigree, for the various animals selected for such 

 record, the first pedigrees must be based on un- 

 published records. Not infrequently, some of the 

 foundation stock are recorded simply by name, and 





