92 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



For the purpose of perpetuating certain desirable 

 types of animals within a particular breed, line breed- 

 ing is often practiced. By this is meant the restric- 

 tion of selection and mating to the individuals of a 

 single line of descent. Breed improvement, and 

 sometimes herd improvement, makes it impossible 

 to confine selection to the limits of the breed. How- 

 ever, those who practice line breeding are not so 

 much concerned in the commercial side as in the 

 establishment of a certain type. Line breeding ex- 

 cludes everything outside the approved type. It 

 necessitates the mating of animals similar in char- 

 acter, purifies the pedigree and gives ancestors an 

 opportunity to dominate the system, and while it 

 is practiced by a number of breeders and some 

 practical farmers in order to fix desirable character- 

 istics, it is not the common practice and probably 

 never will be among the general farmers and ordi- 

 nary stockmen in the country. It has large ad- 

 vantages and should not be neglected. The chief 

 danger in line breeding is that in the anxiety to 

 perfect a pedigree and secure certain character- 

 istics, breeding animals of inferior merit are often 

 used. A line-bred animal is valuable or dangerous, 

 exactly in proportion as the individual has been kept 

 up to grade. No other system of breeding, how- 

 ever, has ever been of as great benefit to the live 

 stock interests. The only thing to avoid is to be 

 sure that all the animals used for breeding are 

 animals of excellent individuality. 



Another form of herd improvement not thor- 

 oughly understood and concerning which there has 

 been much error is that of inbreeding. This means 

 that animals closely related are mated. This form 

 is used so that when an animal of superior excel- 

 lence appears, his or her characteristics are pre- 



