CHAPTER XII. 



BREEDING ANIMALS 



An editorial in the Breeders' Gazette of September 

 1 8, 1902, under the caption, "Thou Shalt Not," con- 

 tained two sentences which ring with history-making 

 importance. The Gazette urges a general effort to 

 lift Short-horn breeding in the United States to a higher 

 plane than the mere dealing in herd-book certificates. 

 "Until we have a healthy public sentiment bearing upon 

 Short-horn breeding; until we offer some reward for 

 original work, we will continue to be consumers 

 and not producers of Short-horn types/' 



This stand by the Gazette will serve as a landmark 

 between the dealing in mere name or lineage pedigrees 

 and adding performance records to our pedigrees; be- 

 tween breeding by mere outward appearances and 

 breeding by statistical methods of performance, to- 

 gether with individual appearance ; and between supine- 

 ly following the lead of the old world and strenuously 

 creating our own American families and breeds. 



The editorial mentioned referred especially to Short- 

 horns, but its broad philosophy applies with equal force 

 to numerous other breeds of cattle, sheep, swine and 

 horses, especially to those breeds designed for the 

 production of meat. The fact that statistical methods 

 have already been potent agencies in breeding faster 

 race horses and better dairy cattle and in breeding 

 many kinds of improved plants, is beginning to force 

 itself upon the attention of the animal breeding frater- 

 nity. Even in chickens the statistical method is being 

 used to bring out the inherited potency of animals 

 with high average efficiency for producing a large num- 

 ber of eggs annually per hen ; and how else than with 

 trap nests and records can it well be done? At the 



