86 MANUAL OF FARM ANIMALS 



and bad characters alike, and will be discussed in the para- 

 graph on in-and-in breeding (p. 92). 



These three factors acting in conjunction, and when properly 

 manipulated, give the highest degree of prepotency attainable, 

 and all are under the control of the breeder. 



The prepotency of the male is given more consideration than 

 of the female. This is due to the fact that it is more noticeable, 

 as the sire is the parent of many more animals than the dam. 

 A stallion may sire fifty or more foals in a year, whereas the 

 dam can give birth to but one. This is a fortunate view of the 

 matter, since improvement can be much more cheaply brought 

 about through a good sire from the mere fact that he is 

 represented in more progeny. 



Prolificacy or fecundity. — For our purpose we will assume 

 that these terms have the same meaning, and that they refer 

 to the fruitfulness or the number of young brought forth. 

 This is a very important consideration in practical operations. 

 Breeds vary widely in this respect, it being a characteristic of 

 some to give birth to more than they can raise, whereas others 

 are not so fruitful. Under "functional variation" (p. 73) we 

 have noted the Angus cow Old Granny (No. 1 in Angus Herd 

 Book). She produced twenty-five calves, the last one in the 

 twenty-ninth year of her life. Old Fanny Cook, the English 

 Thoroughbred mare, produced fifteen foals, giving birth to 

 twins at twenty-two years of age. The Thoroughbred mare 

 Pocahontas also produced fifteen living foals and lived to the 

 old age of thirty-three years. In this connection it is interest- 

 ing to note the number of performances some of the leading 

 males of the various breeds have sired. Among Holstein cattle, 

 the bull Hengerveld De Kol, 23,102, is the sire of ninety-eight 

 daughters with advanced registry records ; Paul Beets De Kol, 

 22,235, of ninety-three ; and Lord Netherland De Kol, 22,187, of 

 eighty-nine. The Jersey bull Exile of St. Lambert has ninety- 

 four daughters in the Register of Merit. Among Standard 



