282 AGRICULTURE 



Hence, the best way to improve cattle or other live-stock 

 cheaply is to purchase pure-bred sires, or males, and to 

 use cheaper females. Starting with a pure-bred sire and 

 scrub females the first generation are half-bloods. The 

 second generation (or the offspring of these half-blood 

 females and of a pure-bred sire) are three quarters pure ; 

 the members of the fourth generation are seven eighths 

 pure, or high grades. The process of improving inferior 

 animals by the use of pure-bred sires is called grading up. 

 It is the cheapest way for most farmers to improve their 

 herds. The cheaper females intended as a foundation for 

 the herd or flock ought to be selected from the best of 

 their kind. 



The high grades may be just as good for butter or beef 

 or other special use as are the pure-bred animals, but for 

 purposes of increase they are less valuable. This is be- 

 cause some of their offspring may resemble their scrub an- 

 cestors. It is unwise, therefore, to use either a grade 

 or a scrub sire. A cross-bred animal is one having one 

 parent belonging to one breed and the other parent to 

 another. When the parents are thus widely unlike, the 

 character of the offspring is uncertain. Such violent 

 crosses are generally unwise. 



Advantages of raising live-stock. There are advan- 

 tages in raising some live-stock even on farms devoted 

 chiefly to cotton, sugar cane, tobacco, or grain. Some of 

 the main reasons why live-stock ought to be raised on 

 most farms are : 



(i) Because they make profitable use of much grass 

 and other coarse food that would otherwise be wasted. 



