SELECTION . 581 



The breeder of Shorthorns should know in advance that it is 

 a breed not of one type, but of many types, of varying degrees 

 of excellence. He who expects to breed Herefords should know 

 at once that the breed is one of two types, so distinct as to be 

 almost dimorphic. The Angus breeder should not be surprised 

 at some failures, or at a red specimen, nor the Galloway breeder 

 at considerable roughness, or at the occasional appearance, with- 

 out warning, of more or less white. 



Breeders of the Percheron should know that, of all modern 

 breeds, this retains the most of the Arabian infusion due to the 

 crusades, and that until recently he was a small not a heavy 

 horse, hence his " bone " is to be carefully looked after. 



These and a mass of other breed peculiarities, both good and 

 bad, should be fully in the mind of the breeder. Of course most 

 of the advocates of any breed will stoutly resent the slightest 

 implication of faults in their favorites, yet the fact remains that 

 the really able and successful breeders know very well that they 

 must be constantly upon their guard against certain happenings 

 which may be called " faults " or " peculiarities " according to 

 the definition of terms. 



SECTION III GENERAL PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN 

 SELECTION 



When the breeder determines which individuals shall and 

 which shall not reproduce, he must do it with all the intelligence 

 possible, and with a full knowledge of all that is involved in his 

 decision, which is most far-reaching and irrevocable in its con- 

 sequences. It is the purpose here to outline some of the prin- 

 cipal considerations that should be in mind when these decisions 

 are made. 



The purpose of selection. Primarily the purpose of selection 

 is to reduce numbers, or to influence type (whichever way we 

 please to put it), but in the last analysis it is to prevent the 

 birth of unwelcome individuals not suited to the purposes of 

 man ; and by as much as the breeder is able to forecast off- 

 spring, by so much is he able to surround himself with good and 

 serviceable individuals without resorting to wholesale slaughter 



