Part II.] II\IPR0VE:MENT OF LIVE STOCK. 93 



A would-be dairyman exhibited the head of his herd, calling 

 special attention to the fact that his bull was a son of one of 

 the famous dairy sires. He was all that, and at the same time 

 he was the offspring of a common low-grade cow that had been 

 mated with the great sire. There is a belief, and it is worthy 

 of consideration in the selection of sires, that sons inherit and 

 transmit in a larger measure the characteristics of their mothers 

 than they do of their sires. Whether this is true or not, the 

 fact remains that constructive breeders pay much attention 

 to the maternal side. I have often heard Mr. A. J. NichoU of 

 New York say that were he selecting a sire for his grade dairy 

 herd, and could not get a pure-bred bull whose dam was a 

 better producer than the best-grade cow in his own herd, he 

 would surely use the son of his best-grade cow. 



Another mistake often made by stockmen is sending into a 

 far-off State for sires and new blood, when in the next county, 

 or a little way down the road, there may be a breeder whose 

 stock has blood and individuality equal to, perhaps better 

 than, that secured after a long journey. Oftentimes, after 

 the transportation charges are settled and the animal is in- 

 stalled in its new home, the purchaser is painfully surprised to 

 find how ordinary is his new pig or calf or colt. 



Let me mention, too, the mistake — often followed by re- 

 grets — of selling a sire before his worth is known. This ap- 

 plies especially in dairy breeding, 



A bull's worth, as a breeder, is not definitely known until 

 his daughters have freshened the second time. This means 

 the bull must be at least five years old before he can be dis- 

 carded as a failure. Not many dairy bulls reach that age. 

 They go to the butcher and are replaced by untried sires. The 

 error is too often made of registering and offering as improvers 

 all the young stuff in pure-bred herds. Not all of the increase 

 of any herd is fit for registration. Registration, when thus 

 abused, is really a hindrance to stock improvement. This 

 practice is not carried on in all herds — far from it; but it is 

 done enough so that young and inexperienced stockmen some- 

 times buy inferior animals because they have pedigrees and cer- 

 tificates of registration attached, only to find their mistakes 



