Breeding Business Drivers. 145 



an ideal standard. The words "breeding power," "cent- 

 gener power" or "projected efficiency" serve when 

 comparing values of individual animals as parents, or 

 as prospective parents as foundation blood for new 

 families or new herds. But there is no common terse 

 expression to be used in comparing the farm value of 

 one herd or one breed of domestic animals with an- 

 other herd or breed. "Farm value" expresses the idea 

 only fairly well. The words "agrogenera value" (agro 

 field or farm, and genera of one family) is sug- 

 gested for use in comparing a herd of one line of 

 breeding with a herd of different breeding. Thus the 

 agro-genera value, or profits, to the farmer on Wabasha 

 drivers would be larger than that of herds of standard- 

 bred trotters. The occasional very fast trotter is valu^ 

 able, but the farmer generally gets only a moderate 

 price, the profits going mainly to some future owner 

 who develops the speed. All but the fast ones sell at 

 only very moderate prices, as the average for a series 

 of years, and the mares do not serve so well to do the 

 farm work. Mares of Wabasha driver breeding on the 

 other hand if bred to larger size with more body would 

 serve well as farm horses, and by breeding directly 

 for the driving purposes there would be a larger num- 

 ber which would sell for high prices for driving so as 

 to bring the average sale-price higher than that of the 

 standard-bred product. The racing interest has too 

 much control over the. breeding of drivers. Would 

 not our country be better off if it had in place of the 

 poorer two-thirds of the standard blood and grade trot- 

 ting horses, registered hercjs of larger, stronger bodied, 

 tough, long-winded, long-lived, docile, good acting, 

 handsome drivers? 



