Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1876-04-06
BREEDING FROM GRADES.

BREEDING FBoM GRADES.
The practice of breeding from grade ami
mails presents a greater barrier to extensive
and permanent Improvements in livestock
than any other consideration. The truth is,
most farmers are too parsimonious in regard
to a willingness to pay a fair and equitable
compensation for the service of a full-blood-
ed or thoroughbred male. In most in
stances, if three or five dollars are required
for the services of a bull. the proprietors Of
COWS will patronize some grade bull, the
service of which is held at one dollar per
cow. 1t is exceedingly difficult to induce
some men to believe that a calf from a full
blooded bull will often be worth from TWEEN
ty to fifty dollars more when the steer is
three years old, than another calf got by a
grade bull, after the steer has arrived at the
same age. Most owners OF coWs appear to
be reluctant to pay over one dollar for the
service of any bull. Hence, if one has a
bull calf, the sire of which is a fu1l-blooded
animal and the dam a COW of no particular
breed, that calf will be kept as a breeder.
The same practice holds good in the man
agement of horses, sheep, swine aud
fowls.
The argument in favor of such a practice
is that : if like will produce like, as those
animals seem to have inherited every desira-e
BILE point of form and symmetry of Their re-
spective sires, they will get quite as good
stock as their full-blooded progenitors."
But here is an impressive instance.in which
like will not produce like. 1t has been found
by long and extensive practice that a grade
animal will not transmit his excellent points
to his progeny with any satisfactory certain
ty, while q full-blooded bull, or stallion, or
ram, will not only transmit the. beautiful
form and symmetry of his own body to his
progeny, but he will transmit also the pow
er requisite to reproduce in their stock,
those beautiful and valuable characteristic
of the grandsire. The instances are numer-
Gus all over the whole country, in which
farmer will pay twenty to forty dol
lars forsuch a colt by such a stallion and a
mare Of no particular breed. Then, as soon
as that colt has become a fully-developed
horse, his services will be offered at only a
few dollars per insurance. Asa natural and
certain result of breeding from grade ami
mails, the colts got by the grade stallion will
seldom fail to disappoint their owners for
the obvious and philosophical reason that a
grade stallion has not the power to transmit
to his stock those, beautiful and valuable
characteristics of breed which he never pos
sessed.
Let the raisers of livestock Of our coln-
try learn that they need not expect to get
colts possessing beautiful form, symmetry,
size, action, color, powers of endurance, nor
g go,"- out OF. a sire and dam. neither of
which are in possession OF the characters
tics alluded to. How can q parent transmit
to a child possessions, faculties or any other
thing that can be named, when he himself
has never been the legitimate possesson Of
that quality or thing?
The most important practical considers
ton is to select the best mares, and the best
ewes that.can be obtained, and then employ
males that can be relied upon for transmit
ting. their own valuable characteristics to
their stock with satisfactory certainty
Practical Faamaer..