Introducing Animals From Foreign Countries. 161 



the performance record of which showed high value, 

 was sold by the Minnesota and North Dakota Experi- 

 ment Stations at a high price to many seed growers 

 and dealers. This sale established a high price for seed 

 of this variety and it is now being distributed by hun- 

 dreds of thousands of bushels of seed by the men who 

 find profit in growing it for seed. This variety is being 

 thus brought into use far more widely than if the Min- 

 nesota and North Dakota stations had injured it with 

 the faint praise of free distribution. Superior breeding 

 animals, as wheat, must be accredited by sale at their 

 real value, which means high prices. President Jas. J. 

 Hill of the Great Northern Railway gave away hun- 

 dreds of superior bulls and boars to the farmers along 

 his railroad. When he takes an invoice of the resulting 

 improvement he loses faith both in those receiving gifts 

 and in the efficiency of a system of free gifts of breed- 

 ing animals. Many of the animals were killed for meat 

 long before they were used their allotted time. Organ- 

 ization profits that pay for skill, for advertising and 

 for hustling, is necessary in breeding either plants or 

 animals. A county in Dakota has recently begun to 

 supply males to the farmers free of cost. It seems easy 

 to predict that the same amount of money used to help 

 an association : to secure, improve, accredit and exploit 

 county families of the best pedigreed breeds would pay 

 better in the end. Possibly the Nation must lead out in 

 forming a plan for better arranging the promotion of 

 breeding by the use of public funds. 



At present the immediate need is to induce the peo- 

 ple to learn of and to adopt the best blood of the pedi- 

 greed breeds we now have. The Nation is losing hun- 

 dreds of millions of dollars by using scrub stock. Our 

 methods of accrediting our best animals so that farm- 

 ers will discard scrubs and low grades are weak. We 

 need a thorough shaking up. More agencies should be 

 put into operation to show the .growers of live stock 

 products what are the best available blood lines for 

 each farm and to show them the greater profits in using 



