104 MODERN MILK GOATS 



ducers. Such an animal is almost without price. But, 

 of course, one must wait five or six years to establish the 

 reputation of a buck on the basis of his daughters' 

 records, and, in the meantime, young bucks must be 

 bouglit and sold on the records of their families, as noted 

 above. These records woidd be presented to the intend- 

 ing purchaser by the owner of the buck in the form of a 

 pedigree. On this pedigree the milk record of each doe 

 of the line is indicated, together with any special distinc- 

 tion she may have won as a producer, such as Advanced 

 Registry, or winnings in competitive milking tests. 



In this connection another point may be mentioned. 

 A purchaser should not be too much influenced in the 

 choice of a buck by the fact that he may have been a con- 

 spicuous wimier in the show ring. Valuable as such suc- 

 cesses may be in indicating individual excellence, they 

 must not blind one to the first and most important quality 

 in a sire, his ability to transmit productive capacity. 

 Only the records of his family can be accepted as an in- 

 dication of this ability. In short, the beginner must never 

 allow himself to be carried away by the excellence of the 

 buck himself — he must demand milk records, and he 

 must, to a very great extent, be influenced by these 

 records in his choice. 



Systems of Breeding.— Another point that must be 

 considered when purchasing a buck for a pure bred or 



