ADVANCED REGISTRY. 123 



Hitherto in America the only requirements for registry in case of imported 

 cattle, were a standard of color and size and a certification of purity of blood 

 by the European breeder, and in the case of home-bred cattle, descent from 

 stock already registered here. There was no connection with registry in the 

 Netherlands, and no evidence of descent from superior cattle in that country. 

 When importation began there were no herd-books in that country other than 

 those kept by individual breeders. Soon after the Netherlands Herd Book 

 Association was incorporated by the government, followed by the incorporation 

 <>f the Friesian Association for the province of Friesland. These associations, 

 in addition to blood purity, required excellence of character as tested by stand- 

 ards of structure and appearance indicative of superior milk and flesh producing 

 qualities. Such a test was the first additional requirement that suggested itself 

 as necessary in the construction of an Advanced Registry in America. A brief 

 trial convinced the originator of the idea that such tests were not alone suffi- 

 cient. From a point of view thus reached, he conceived that a proper stimulus 

 to improvement through selection could only be secured with certainty in a 

 dairy breed by means of tests of actual performance at the pail or churn. This 

 principle of tests by actual performance, embodied in the system, is the dis- 

 tinctive feature of Advanced Registry. 



Tentative steps had been taken by the Dutch-Friesian Association as early 

 as 1882, looking toward the requirement of actual tests for registry.* This 

 became one of the distinguishing featuresof the Dutch-Friesian registry system, 

 and at the meeting of the two -associations in 1885, at which time they were 

 merged into the Holstein-Friesian Association of America, the establishment 

 of an advanced registry was made one of the conditions of consolidation. The 

 board of officers of the new association were entrusted with the formulation of 

 its regulations. This board took for the basis of its action a set of rules pre- 

 viously prepared by Mr. Hoxie, and these with slight amendments were adopted. 

 They required in general that all animals received to it should attain a certain 

 standard of structural excellence, and in addition that all cows should reach a 

 certain standard of milk or butter production determined by actual tests. 

 Structural excellence was determined by reference to separate scales of points 

 for cows and bulls. Iri the case of bulls a score of 80 per cent was the minimum 

 for admission and a weight of at least 1,800 Ibs. at full age. Added to these con- 

 ditions excellence as a stock-getter was required to be shown by examination 

 of at least three of the progeny. Cows were required to score a minimum 

 of 75 per cent of the scale and to weigh at least 1,000 Ibs. at full age. A diffi- 

 culty arose as to the relative milk and butter requirements for cows of different 

 ages. It was manifestly unjust to classify immature with mature cows. This 

 difficulty was cleverly solved by Mr. W. G. Powell, who proposed a sliding scale 

 beginning with a minimum requirement of heifers just two years old and 

 increasing the requirement for every day of additional age up to maturity at 

 five years of age. Mr. S. Hoxie was elected superintendent of this registry, and 

 the system was at once put formally into operation. 



Though thus formally established, nearly a year elapsed before the first 

 entries were actually made. This was due, in the main, to the fact that the 

 Board of Officers did not complete the Scale of Points till August 12, 1895. 

 Furthermore it was necessary for the new superintendent to formulate a system 

 of measurements and a descriptive nomenclature a task rendered doubly 

 difficult because with the slight advance in this direction on the part of the 



*When the Dutch-Friesian Association was organized in 1879, the escutcheon was widely 

 depended upon for the selection of dairy cattle. Investigations by the Government of France and 

 by the Legislature of Pennsylvania had decidedly favored it. This association accepted the con- 

 clusions of these investigations and began a system of registry based on the escutcheon. It was 

 called the Main Registry. Its entries contained descriptions of the escutcheon, and in cases where 

 they could be reliably ascertained, measurements, milk records and descriptions of style and build. 

 The requirement of actual tests of milk or butter production was added in 1882. In that year it 

 published the second volume of its Herd-Book in which two forms of registry appeared under the 

 names, Pedigree Registry and Main Registry. The latter required tests of performance of all cows 

 entered. It required animals to be at least two years old at date of entry, bulls to be proved stock- 

 getters and to scale 80 points of the scale of points of the association ; and cows to show a high 

 development of udder, mammary veins, escutcheon, and to have records of actual milk production 

 sufficient to satisfy the Official Inspector and Executive Board that they were capable of producing 

 6,000 Ibs. at two years old. 7,000 Ibs. at three years old, 8,000 Ibs. at four years old, or 10,000 Ibs. at 

 five years old or upwards. These requirements were formulated by the Superintendent. He re- 

 ceived valuable suggestions from members of the association and from breeders outside. Among 

 those who rendered most assistance were Mr. C. R. Payne, Mr. S. Burchard, Mr. H. Langworthy 

 and Hon. Gerrit S. Miller. 



