BREEDING 



267 



The Pure-bred Sire. — The use of the " pure-bred sire " 

 is one of the shortest cuts to improving the live stock of 

 any community. The value of the pure-bred sire in im- 

 proving common stock is well shown by the following 

 tabulation from Davenport's " Principles of Breeding." 



Table Showing Appearance or Pure Blood and Disappearance of 

 Impure by Use of Pure-bred Sire 



. This table means that if grade and pure-bred animals 

 of the.Tsame breed are mated, consistent improvement is 

 made bythe infusion of pure blood. 



After six generations there is less than 2 per cent of 

 impure blood in the offspring. This offspring, even though 

 possessing many of the characters of the pure breed, is 

 not a pure^bred and cannot be registered in our American 

 Herd Books. There is no possible way to " grade up " 

 common stock to become absolutely pure bred. 



Breed Associations. — Every breed of live stock has its 

 breed association made up of the men who direct the 

 improvement of the breed. The association agrees upon 

 what the type of the animal should be and points out the 

 deficiencies for correction and the good points which the 

 breed possesses. The active associations offer prizes at 



