280 CATTLE-BREEDING. 



who was rather free in expressing his opinion 

 of pedigrees and sometimes criticised very 

 severely those which were then quite popular. 

 Some of his fellow breeders became very an- 

 gry and assailed in very bitter words one of his 

 most esteemed families, the members qf which 

 were of distinguished merit. He retorted that 

 they were capable of standing on their own 

 merits and rather defied criticism. Never- 

 theless, the evil name was echoed by many 

 thoughtlessly, and by a few from envious rival- 

 ry, and in the end this old and esteemed stock 

 of superb show cattle could hardly find a pur- 

 chaser at any price; and though this was many 

 years ago I suppose that family will never re- 

 gain its former prestige in Central Kentucky, 

 so long does the memory of such a thing linger 

 and so sure is a slander to find an envious or a 

 thoughtless tongue to catch its dying echo and 

 send it forth on a new mission of cruel wrong. 

 This is a good instance of the kind of stock a 

 breeder must avoid with never-wearying watch- 

 fulness, and in order to keep out of danger 

 from this source he must know something of 

 the traditions of the breed he is purchasing as 

 well as of the records. 



It may be said that the very avoidance of such 

 pedigrees tends to keep alive the prejudice 

 against them. True, in a certain sense, and 

 while I regard the words that Tennyson applies 



