Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1868-06-12
cutie BreeIinG.

/
for the consideration of the practical
farmer, and yet the one to the consider
alton of which he is generally most
averse is thatof the la,cs of reproduction,
or the principles of breeding.
The theory rather than the fact, that
like produces like is generally accepted,
and acting upon that, the mass of far
mers are content to use any decent look
ing bull, and some that are not quite de-
cent looking, and to reserve for milk
ing purposes the heifer calves of their
best cows, no matter from what source
they spring.
They ignore the well established fact
that the offspring of any animal is not
simply the offspring of its own parents.
but also of its grandparents, and it's
great grand parents for countless genera
lions back, and is just as likely to in
herit their bad as their good qualities
terms the idea of tracing pedigree, and
they consider herd book as chaff with
which willy schemers inveigle young
fedglings into their snares but they
studiously and persisteHtiy evade the
main issue which is that in order to
produce desirable creature the progen-
itor must have been a thorough bred
animal. " Thoroughbred" means
throughout and entirely well bred, SO
that like produces like not in one or
two particulars, but in all.
Lewis f. Allen says In all thorough
bred animals, of whatever kind, the
good qualities are concentrated. That
is to say, they breed alike throughout,
from sire to son, mother to daughter,
and so on down to indefinite generations.
There is an unmistallable likeness pre-
vailing among them. We have seen
that our native cattle are made up of
incongruities, in size, shape, color and
quality. There is no uniformity of like
ness among them. Some are good,
more of them Indifferent, both in APP
pearance and quality. Some of the
young resemble the sire, others the dam,
and great many neither, but take the
appearance and qualities of ancestral
relatives generations back. They have
no fixed, or permanent character, but
are an aggregation of various qualities
and blood, possessing lowing to their
miscellaneous DESCENT no particular
characteristics which can be depended
upon.
1t is this uncertainty which detracts
from their value. Use a thoroughbred
bull to these Neutrality-suspicious. cows,
, l.; tee or nuIx n
fused into their offspring by his own
J fred characteristics, that his stock at
once partakes largely of his own quality
and appearance. Now, let the fuU blood
of this bull be repeated on the half
: blood heifers, and his blood becomes
still stronger in them, and their stock
more nearly resembles his blood (there
: being two crosses of it in them) than
that Of their dam, who has one-half
the inferior or native blood; and so on
to any number of these full bred crosses,
until the appearance of the progeny re-
! sembles the thoroughbred almost be-
! yond u distinction to the inexperienced
i eve. On the other hand, among the
! cross-breeds' progeny of the first gene
j ration, or half-breeds, some very choice
\ ones will be found partaking largely OF
il the qualities of the sire.
The Impractical breeders may think
if that with so promising calf, a bull
may no raised that will answer his pur-
. poses and the qualities of his young
4 stock from common COWS, from which
It the bull sprang,) will be good enough
and, therefore he uses him for breeding
accordingly, and finds his progeny every
\ way inferior, and wonders why it is so
The reason is plain this half-bred bull