CHAPTER I. 



BREEDING. 



An Ideal Necessary. The business of the stock-breeder 

 is a pecuHar one. He has to deal with life, and all those 

 mysterious possibilities that exist in the living creature have 

 to be reckoned with in his operations. Stock breeding is 

 not a mere question of cunning hands, which model inert 

 material to the whim of their owner ; the really great breeder 

 must possess an intuitive genius that can pierce the curtain 

 of mystery surrounding living creatures, lay hold of those 

 hidden forces, and so direct them that the result is a creature 

 approaching very closely to the ideal he, himself, has set up. 

 In short, the breeder is not a mere imitator, he is a creator. 

 There can be no progress unless the breeder has a very clear 

 ideal before him towards which he is working. He may 

 never reach his ideal, but he must never lose sight of it. 

 No matter how much money may be invested in the enter- 

 prise, it will come to naught if the breeder has not a clearly 

 defined object in view. He will meet with many things to 

 try his faith, but he must not waver ; he will be frequently 

 cast down, but he must not be discouraged. Difficulties, 

 disappointments, and hope deferred are part of the heritage 

 of the breeder, and he requires the highest class of courage 

 to be able to stick to his guns and eventually bring victory 

 out of what appeared to be certain defeat. 



Utility. Every breeder should ask himself why he is 

 breeding the animals of his choice. Is it to humor the 

 whims of the few, or to meet the demands of the many ? If 

 his work as a breeder is to be a success, he must never lose 

 sight of the requirements of the man who produces the 

 market hog for the money that is in it. No matter how pure 



