Essentials of Animal Breeding. 19 



ter " and are among the most important considerations which a 

 breeder must bear in mind in building up his herd or flock. 



Good feed, care, and attention are valuable adjuncts to selection. 

 Unless feeding permits full development we can not select intelli- 

 gently the animals which have received and can transmit the charac- 

 ters we desire to perpetuate. Starved animals which never have had 

 an opportunity to demonstrate their capacity to produce meat, milk, 

 wool, or other valuable commercial products, furnish poor material 

 from which to select individuals capable of maximum and most 

 economical production. 



One must use these rules of selection with judgment and common 

 sense. While faults undoubtedly can be corrected by the use of 



Idolmere. 



FIG. 11. Grand champion Aberdeen-Angus bull at the 1919 International Live Stock 

 Exposition. One of the greatest bulls of the breed ever seen in an American show 

 ring. An exceptional photograph of a great bull showing not only splendid beef 

 conformation but outstanding breed character also. Note especially the strong 

 character as shown in the head and neck, as well as the great length of the bull and 

 his remarkable smoothness. 



males of superior individuality, it may be unwise to use some females 

 for breeding even market stock because they may be too inferior for 

 even this purpose. To sell them and substitute better individuals, 

 either high grades or purebreds, is often the more sensible course 

 and the more profitable in the end. 



Selection alone, however, is not certain to result in steady progress. 

 Different combinations of hereditary elements may result in ap- 

 parently the same characteristic. In practicing selection a man may 

 introduce at any time the blood of a line which merely looks like 

 that of his 'own stock, but which breeds differently. The result is 

 the undoing of past progress, the next generation showing the vari- 



