38 METHODS IN JUDGING AND SELECTION 



Former records of other animals of like conformation must 

 be used as a guide or basis for passing judgment or opinion. 

 This is in reality the basis of all live stock judging, as the 

 accomplishments of one animal under certain known con- 

 ditions may reasonably be expected to obtain under like 

 conditions in other instances. If it were not for this infor- 

 mation which has been accumulated, either in writing or 

 through the teaching of practical stockmen and college 

 live stock judges, the subject would not have attained its 

 present magnitude or accuracy. It is only by correlation 

 of individual characteristics, as measured by the success of 

 other animals and actual records, that any assurance may be 

 obtained regarding the value of an animal as a breeder. 

 When judging direct fitness for the block or for dairy purposes 

 all breeding and ancestral records may be disregarded as all 

 practical evidences of utility and quality are largely visible 

 on the exterior of the animal. This, however, has been made 

 possible only by careful studies of the conformation of work, 

 milk, and meat-producing qualities of other similar animals. 

 Ideals, Qualifications, and Consistency. The beginner in 

 live stock judging must necessarily acquire a definite working 

 knowledge of the principles on which stock judging is based. 

 He should learn the peculiar structural form of the various 

 types, breeds, and classes by studying each animal individ- 

 ually. By so doing, he is soon able to correlate the various 

 parts and thereby fix the individual as a whole in its relation 

 as applied to the various standards of excellence employed. 

 In the show ring the method of procedure is different. It 

 is not a question necessarily of depicting the minuteness of 

 form, or becoming acquainted with the various structural 

 parts or units. The judge of long experience grasps and 

 analyzes the form of the animal or animals as a whole and 

 makes the alignment according to merit or conformity to the 

 standard of excellence used for the type or breed in question. 

 The requirements are that the animal coming closest to the 

 ideal standard be selected to head the class. Thereafter, 

 each of the others should be placed according to the degree 

 of conformity with the animal selected as possessing the most 

 ideal type qualification. 



