l8 MAINE.- AGRICUI^TURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I917. 



the faithful following of the policy of keeping every sire until 

 it was definitely known, by the performance records of the 

 first of his progeny, whether he was adding to or substracting 

 from the productive value of the herd or flock. Prove the 

 breeding zvorth of the sire. If it is poor discard him at once 

 and get another. If it is good keep him as long as possible 

 and by the multiplication of his desirable qualities in his off- 

 spring make definite and sure progress. 



CONTINUITY OF PURPOSE IN BREEDING AND ITS IMPLICATIONS. 



The art of breeding is at once a conservative and a pro- 

 gressive matter. It is conservative in the sense that it holds 

 steadfastly to certain definite and relatively fixed ideals as to 

 what the perfect animal should be. It is progressive in the 

 sense that it bends every effort towards the attainment of those 

 ideals. While it is, I think, unquestionable that these state- 

 ments are true as general propostions it is unfortunately equally 

 true that many breeders of animals exhibit in their practice 

 rather striking exceptions to them. To the true breeder it is 

 unbelievable, and indeed unthinkable, that there should be so 

 many men as there are who breed without any definite ideals 

 whatever before them. Again there are the so-called breeders 

 whose ideals are perenially subject to change "without notice 

 and without doubt." Today one type or one family is the 

 greatest, indeed the only hope of the breed to one of these men. 

 Meet him a year hence and you Avill discover, somewhat to 

 your astonishment and confusion, that a totally diff'erent type, 

 or wholly foreign blood lines, offer the only chance to stay the 

 rapidly progressing annihilation of the breed. It is a misuse 

 of words to call such persons breeders. They belong mentally 

 in precisely the same category as the colored gentleman of the 

 story who averred that he didn't know where he was going, 

 but that he was on his way. Success in breeding is possible 

 only for the man who does know were he is going, that is who 

 has a definite, and for him permanent, ideal as to the kind of 

 animals which he v\^ants to breed. This ideal is something 

 wh:ch must be alwavs in his mind as he makes his matings. 



