PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING 97 



block. The whole problem is simply to keep them 

 in good healthy condition and to fatten them as 

 rapidly as possible with the least expense. These 

 animals, too, must be protected from unfavorable, 

 disagreeable weather, must be given good, clean, 

 wholesome feed, must be given a very limited 

 amount of exercise and must be provided with pure 

 water. 



It goes without saying that blood cannot take 

 the place of good feeding and good care. A pure- 

 bred animal or herd will rapidly deteriorate and 

 become an absolute expense, instead of a profit, if 

 feeding and care is not present. The fact that most 

 pure-bred animals are in better condition than those 

 that are not royally bred is partly due to the fact 

 that the breeder owning them has sufficient interest 

 in his animals to give them better care than is ac- 

 corded to the scrub animal. True, pure-bred 

 animals of good individuality vnll do better under 

 rough conditions and neglect than the animal 

 whose ancestors have not been bred for a great 

 many years for vigor and vitality, but no pure-bred 

 herd can approach anything like a maximum of 

 profit or of excellence if the feed is poor or if the 

 shelter is not provided. Why was it necessary 

 that the herd bulls on the range during the period 

 of large ranches had to be so frequently replaced 

 by animals from herds that were given liberal at- 

 tention and good care? It was due to this very 

 fact that it is impossible, on account of range con- 

 ditions, to give the shelter and feed necessary to 

 best developments. The pure-bred animal could 

 not be seen at his best unless he was given this care 

 on the ranch or brought from the older sections 

 where abundance of feed and shelter were available. 



To the average farmer .who keeps stock, and eve^y 



