THE BREEDING OF ANIMALS, IN GENERAL 



91 



herd improvement or in breed improvement. Few of the many- 

 breeds of farm animals, as well as few of the more noted strains 

 of the various breeds, have been formed without more or less 

 line-breeding. Experience has shown that it is not enough to 

 confine selection to the hmits of the breed, for all breeds are 

 exceedingly variable, and for best results one must restrict his 

 selection to those lines that most nearly approach the object 

 sought. 



Line-breeding combines animals very similar in their charac- 

 ter, narrows the pedigrees to few and closely related lines of 

 descent, intensifies characters both good and bad, and thus gives 

 stability to the strain or breed. It is a very strong factor in 

 securing uniformity, and increasing the prepotency among farm 

 animals. 



No method is equal to that of line-breeding for the improve- 

 ment of farm animals. It is conservative and safe. It is free 

 from many of the objections that attach to other methods. 

 There are, however, two factors that must not be lost sight of : 

 both good and bad characters 

 alike are intensified, and the 

 importance of the individual in 

 selection is great. Formerly 

 much was said against line- 

 breeding, but since the time of 

 Robert Bakewell it has been a 

 recognized factor in live-stock 

 improvement (p. 77). 



The chief disadvantage of 

 this system of breeding is that 

 the breeder is likely to select 

 by pedigree, and thus fail to note 



the individuality of the animals he is mating. A Hne-bred pedi- 

 gree is good or bad according as the animals composing it are 

 good or bad. The breeder who selects by pedigree alone with- 



FiG. 40. — French Coach Htallion, 

 Five Yeahs Old. Imported by 

 Champlin Bros., Christon, Iowa. 



