42 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



constant elevation of the quality of 

 grades. Crossing pure breeds to obtain 

 a new breed is hardly to be thought of 

 at present in ordinary farm practice. 

 Again, most farmers cannot afford the 

 loss of time necessary to establish a new 

 breed even by the method of natural 

 breeding. Even if he has the time why 

 should he wish to form a new breed? 

 We already have good pure breeds for all 

 purposes — for quantity of milk, for rich- 

 ness of milk, for excellence of beef, for 

 vigor in beef animals, for coarse and 

 fine wool, for mutton, for speed, for 

 draft, for bacon, for lard, for eggs, for 

 chicken meat, etc. To be sure there is 

 room for improvement. But why not 

 build on the basis of the great advan- 

 tages furnished by existing breeds ? The 

 only sensible way to improve upon 

 our present conditions is to go ahead 

 from the most advanced point yet 

 reached, rather than go back and begin 

 anew. 



The average farmer raises stock for 

 quality and usefulness, not for pedi- 

 gree; and since such a large proportion 

 of farm animals consist of native stock, 

 the only reasonable course for the farmer 

 to pursue is to use pure bred males for 

 improving this stock in definite direc- 

 tions. This system is simple, easy to 

 understand and brings rapid results. 

 Even the first cross shows decided im- 

 provement, and within three to five gen- 

 erations the grades are for all practical 

 purposes as good as pure breeds. The 



choice of breed in the sire will depend 

 on the product which is desired. For 

 the production of heavy draft horses 

 use Percheron or Clydesdale stallions; 

 for quantity of milk, Holstein bulls; for 

 rich milk, Guernsey or Jersey bulls; for 

 dual purpose cows, Shorthorn bulls; for 

 beef, Hereford, Shorthorn or Angus 

 bulls, etc. The individual farmer will 

 have his preference in the choice of 

 breeds, but when a given course has been 

 adopted, stick to it and do not change 

 from one breed to another without rea- 

 son, for the tendencies of the herd will 

 become mixed and indefinite unless a 

 uniform plan is followed. 



In order to get satisfactory results by 

 this method the males must be pure bred. 

 Never use a grade sire for breeding pur- 

 poses. All such animals should be cas- 

 trated. It is not necessary for the farmer 

 to import his sires from Europe, in fact 

 this practice is often to be deprecated. 

 American stock for American conditions 

 should be the slogan of the breeder, and 

 the farmer will usually get better results 

 from the use of American sires. 



In farm stock, pedigree is merely a 

 record of ancestry and does not insure 

 quality in an individual animal. Pedi- 

 gree is a good thing as far as it goes, and 

 should be insisted upon in the choice 

 of sires to head a herd. Even the best 

 line of descent, however, shows poor in- 

 dividuals here and there. Consequently 

 individual merit should be insisted upon 

 as well as pedigree. 



