QUALIFICATIONS OF BREEDING ANIMALS 73 



problem of unifying the various breed characteristics of the 

 animals retained. Variation is the real source of breed im- 

 provement, yet variations occur, not only for good qualities, 

 but for undesirable ones as well. This makes the establish- 

 ment of uniform characteristics doubly difficult. If breeders 

 practice culling their herds closely, the inferior qualities 

 may thus be largely removed and along with them the 

 characteristics which tend to make the herd variable in 

 transmission. There will always remain, however, a certain 

 natural variation even among the better developed specimens 

 in the herd. 



The original practice of breeding and maintaining several 

 distinct types of animals in a herd kept it in an admixed 

 condition. Fortunately, however, this practice is being 

 rapidly replaced by more favorable conditions. The practice 

 of maintaining an animal because of its excellence, disregard- 

 ing its conformity to a definite type, is rapidly giving way, 

 by the better class of breeders, to a system which will allow 

 greater uniformity. The best herds have all been built up 

 by this one-type method of improvement and it is merely 

 a question of practising it rigidly for breeders to reach 

 ultimate success in breed or herd uniformity. These con- 

 ditions should all be noted in a herd from which a purchaser 

 anticipates selecting animals for a foundation. 



Adaptation. Breeds of live stock should be selected with 

 special reference to their adaptation to the section in which 

 the herd is to be established. In most of the standard breeds 

 of live stock there is quite a wide latitude of adaptation, 

 yet there are specialized conditions under which unusual 

 results may be obtained. The Jersey breed of cattle is well 

 adapted to close pasture confinement, having been reared 

 under such conditions in their native home. The Holstein- 

 Friesian breed, which is considerably larger than the Jersey, 

 thrives best where it has access to good pasture lands. In 

 Holland where this breed originated the farms are level, and 

 it is on such land that this breed reaches its highest state 

 of development, although like the Jersey, the breed will 

 thrive under varying conditions. The Ayrshire breed origi- 

 nated in northwestern Scotland where the land is rough, 



