ANIMALS MADE USEFUL 21 
15, Improving the herd.—It has become a proverb that 
the sire is half the herd. The sire is even more than that. 
In the first generation he is half; in the second he is 
three-fourths; in the third, seven-eighths; in the fourth, 
fifteen-sixteenths, and so on, until, if judicious selection 
be maintained and only pure-bred sires be used, the char- 
acter of the herd will be fixed by the blood introduced 
through the sires alone. Ultimately, such breeding, if 
continued for several generations, will transform the herd 
of mixed breeding into one substantially pure bred. 
How BREEDING Up IMPROVES THE STOCK 
The larger individual at the left is the result in the first generation when a pure- 
bred Berkshire and razorback were crossed. The progeny is inferior to its pure-bred 
dam but greatly superior to its scrub sire, pictured at the right. 
This plan requires the selection of sires belonging to 
one distinct breed, and there must be no change to any 
other breed. This kind of breeding always improves the 
herd, but must not be confounded with improvement of 
the breed. To improve the breed or race is a difficult task 
and involves great expense, a long period of time, and the 
careful application of technical details and much scientific 
knowledge to the breeding operations. 
