CHAPTER VII 



Basis of Profitable Stock Breeding 



The basis of all profitable live stock breeding 

 should be good blood lines. By this is meant 

 animals of quality, with ancestors with a record. 

 It is not sufficient that an animal should simply 

 have a pedigree. It must be a good individual and 

 also have ancestors possessing like characteristics. 



With this in mind, the next important step is 

 discrimination in selection. The breeder must not 

 be influenced by fancy, whim or what are consid- 

 ered strictly breed points. The fact that a man 

 may much prefer a red Shorthorn will undoubtedly 

 influence his selection of breeding stock, but it 

 should not determine his choice of a moderately 

 satisfactory animal of his favorite color, rather than 

 a very high grade roan, for example. Of course, if 

 the breeder is not in business from a purely money 

 standpoint, he can afford to indulge in fancies, al- 

 though the results will, in the end, not be so satis- 

 factory as though he had adhered to recognized 

 and established principles of breeding. If in con- 

 nection with these principles of selection he feeds 

 liberally and judiciously, provides shelter during 

 the winter and shade during the summer, there is 

 no reason why he should not have a profitable pro- 

 ducing herd, which will increase in value from year 

 to year. 



The matter of selecting a breed is largely a mat- 

 ter of personal preference and environment. One 



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