336 Western Live-stock Management 
five top crosses. This means that the animal to be re- 
corded has been bred up from scrub stock by the use of 
five pure-bred sires in direct succession, thus making the 
animal 32 pure-bred. . Now, however, this rule is abol- 
ished and nearly all the leading breed associations record 
only the offspring of sires and dams already registered. 
Methods of recording. 
In recording animals with the association, blanks or 
forms printed by the secretary are used. In the appli- 
cation, it is necessary to give the name and number of the 
sire, name and number of the dam, signature of the breeder 
as to the service and the time of foaling, and complete 
color markings of the colt. If the animal is registered 
under the top cross rule, it is necessary to give his entire 
pedigree, tracing back to the sixth generation in most 
cases. When an animal is accepted for registry, it is 
given the name which the breeder suggests and a regis- 
tration number, or in some cases assigned a certain vol- 
ume and page on the record. The secretary of the asso- 
ciation then issues a certificate to the owner, which shows 
the information in regard to the animal’s breeding, the 
color markings, and the like, and certifies under the seal 
of the association that the animal has been duly recorded 
on their books. Such a certificate is known as certif- 
icate of registration, or more commonly as a pedigree. 
These certificates usually show, in addition to the sire 
and dam, the other ancestors for several generations. 
The names of the animals are in all cases accompanied 
by their registration numbers or by the volume and page 
of the book in which they are recorded. When the num- 
ber or page is not given, the ancestor in question is not 
recorded. In case of grades admitted under top cross 
