Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1868-07-03
The Farm, Garden, Kitchen & Shop.

,
which he is generally most averse is
that of the laws 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 farmers are content to use any
decent looking bull, and some that are
not quite decent looking, and to re.
serve for milking 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 its own par
ents, but also Of its grandparents, and
its great grandparents for countless
generations back, and is just as likely
to inherit their bad as their good quail
tiles. When their attention is called
to the subject they ridicule in unmeas-
ured terms the idea of tracing a pedi-
gree, and they consider herd book
as chaff with which willy schemers in
veigle young fedglings into their
snares; but they 5tudiously and per-
sistently evade the main issue which
is that in order to produce desirable
creature the progenitor must have
been thorough bred animal. "Thor-
ough-bred' means throughout and en-
tirely well bred, so that like produces
like not in one or two particulars,
but in all.
Lewis +. Allen says: In all thor
ough-bred animals, Of whatever kind,
the good qualities are concentrated.
That is to say, they breed alike trough
out, from sire TO son, mother to daugh-
ter, and so on down to indefinite gen
erations. There is unmistakable like
ness prevailing among them. We
have seen that our native cattle are
made up Of incongruities, in size, shape
color and quality. There is no uni
iormity of likeness among them
Some are good more Of them indifler-
ent, both in appearance and quality.
Some OF the young resemble the sire
others the dam, and a great many nei-
ther, but take the appearance and
qualities Of ancestral relatives gene
rations back. They have no fixed
or permanent character, but are an
aggregation Of various qualities and
blood, possessing lowing to their mis-
cellaneous DESCENT no particular char
acteristics which can be depended
upon,
1t is this uncertainty which detracts
from their value. Use q thorough
bred bull 10 these miscellaneously
bred cows, however and his blood il
so strongly infused into their offspring
by his own fixed characteristics, that
his stock at once partakes largely Of
his own quality and appearance
Now, let the full blood OF this bull BIZ
repeated on the haIf-blood heifcrs
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 inte
rlor or native blood and so on to any
number Of these full bred crosses, un
TIL the appearance OF the progeny re
sembles the thoroughbred almost be
You'd distinction to the experienced
eye. On inc ouer nauu, among v,r
cross-breed's progeny of the first gen
Grafton, or halEbreeds, some yer.
choice ones will be found partaElinI
largely Of the qualities Of the sire.
The Impractical breeders ma
think that with so promising a calf,
bull may be raised that will answe
his purposes and the qualities Of hi
young stock from common COWS, (hOr
which the bull sprang,) will be goo
enough, and therefore he uses him TO
breeding accordingly, and finds h.
progeny every way inferior, and wol
ders why it is so. The reason
plain: this haIf-bred bull had in hin
self, one-half of the inferior or natl,
blood, which was just as strong in hiI
and likely to transmit its inferiC
quality through inferior dams, as h
own share Of the good blood which
had drawn from his sires, and tin
there is little progress made in ii
provement from this mongrel bull
Still he is better than a native bu
and should be used when a better OF
cannot be had. The same result W
occur from breeding those grade al
mails among themselves. The infe
or blood is quite as apt to strike 0
among them as the superior, of cour
an incongrulty appears in their yario
characteristics.
Prof. AgaSsiz says: "You Sc
therefore, that the security of desil
bic animals for breeding which is n
extended to the grandparents is
security at all, because the qualiti
OF the grand.parent may crop out
any moment. What / say is not
mere matter Of theory | have expe
mented upon that point over and ov
again, and | wish that all who ia
an interest in this matter would
peat those experiments, so as to s.
isfy themselves that here is one thi
worthy Of consideration
Quotations of like import, fro
equally good authors, might be exter
ed, almost indefinitely; one more no
ever is all we can afford space for
day.
DR.. Geo. B. Loring says: VIII
| would avoid animals that have (
fects from injury, | would also ave
those that have natural defects. WI
then? Here is a bull with a straig
ruup hiUh head avnp shoulders df