678 PRACTICAL PROBLEMS 



anybody ever seriously doubted this fact. This is altogether 

 outside the question of the "dual purpose" animal, for no 

 attempt has been made to breed the Jersey for other purposes 

 than milk production. Nor is it a reproach to Jerseys that they 

 do not excel in something for which they have never been bred. 

 As well expect them to take records upon the race track, or to do 

 any other thing for which they have not been fitted by selection. 



The influence of the environment is therefore permissive 

 rather than assertive. It affords the material and the opportu- 

 nity for development of what was born into the individual, and 

 what was not born into it cannot develop, no matter how favor- 

 able the environment, as witness the very different develop- 

 ment of two individuals differently born but living under the 

 same conditions of life. If an individual is exceptional, we may 

 say of him with confidence that he was both well born and well 

 conditioned during development. If, on the other hand, he is 

 inferior, we are uncertain whether to attribute it to non-inherit- 

 ance of valuable characters, or to their failure to develop owing 

 to unfortunate conditions, or to both. 



Well-bred individuals should have good conditions. It is mani- 

 festly unwise to expend time, money, and thought on the pro- 

 duction of individuals highly endowed with the richest possibilities 

 of the race and then fail to provide the necessary conditions for 

 their development. Ordinary business sense, therefore, dictates 

 that the breeder should secure ideal conditions for the full and 

 proper development of the characters whose improvement he 

 aims to secure through fortunate combinations of blood lines. 

 To see herds of the best-bred animals suffering for feed is at 

 once pathetic from the humanitarian standpoint and unaccount- 

 able from a business standpoint. 



Having spent time and money for the infusion of the highest 

 possibilities into the herd, certainly business foresight demands 

 that their full realization shall be prevented by no ordinary cir- 

 cumstance ; yet what share of the best-bred animals and what 

 proportion of our improved seeds are given full opportunity to 

 show what is really in them ? 



The breeder is interested for another reason in securing the 

 full development of all that is born into individuals and family 



