Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1878-08-01
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BREEDING TG IMPROVE STOCK.

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worth doing at all, it is worth doing well.
Take two bulls, for instance, one purely
bred, the other a half-blood, a grade. The
immediate produce of the first, or pure bull,
upon native COWS, would be half-bloods.
The produce of the half-blood bull on the
same COWS would he %one-quarter blood.
AS we follow this up, the produce from
generation to generation is only half as
good as the better bred, theoretically real
lv they are far less, since the tendency in
the case of the low grades is constantly to
throw back to the original stock. For in
stance, allowing that the tendency in the
half-breeds would be'equal to throw back
or the cold-blooded ancestors, or the better
bred ones, the chances would then be in IA
vor of the full-blood sire, as the difference
between one-half and one-quarter. If there
is anything in prepotency,-tha is the act
of being powerful, or transmitting inherited
vuality, and we presume no practical man
will now doubt the fact,-it will readily be
seen that the Individual who breeds from a
grade bull for The sake of saving from $50
TO $50 in the price of the sire, will have paid
dear for the bargain. Yet that certain ag-
~ricultural writer's do not think SO, is shown
from the following extract from a Chicago
agricultural journal, which. in a live stock
article. says:
Cattle breeding has been the subject of
experiment, Thought and application, until
the COW tips the scales with thousands OF
dollars in the balance. These results are
patent to the world, and make a disbelief in
thorough breeding, or a refusal to adopt it,
utterly ineXcusable. 1t is true that a for
tune for a horse or cow appears at first view
unreasonable and unjustifiable. 1t, is also
true that the animal in itself is often not
worth the price asked and received for it;
but it must not be forgotten that it has cost
something to bring our improved breeds of
animals to the perfection that now charac-
terizes them. Breeders have been willing
to sacrifice much to produce these breeds,
and it is unreasonable, and contrary to all
practice in any other department of indus
try, that they should be denied compensa-
ton in proportion to their risks and expen-
ditures Of time and money. We do not
wish to be understood, however. as advo-
eating what are termed fancy prices. The
Westeym Rural has always believed that
such prices were detrimental to all parties,
and to none more than the breeders them
selves, and in this great majority of our
best breeders of cattle now heartily agree.
But that the care and trouble in the breed
ing of thoroughbred stock, should not be
paid for even to the extent OF what the care
less and unobservant might denominate an
exceedingly fancy price, is not reasonable.
1t is SO easy, however, to vastly improve
common stock by the use of grades, that
even the plea of expense is not a good one.
When a man thinks S. or So an exorbitant
price for the use of grade bull upon his
scrub COWS, he cannot have been very OBJ
servant Of the vastly better calves that those
have who do indulge in that trifing ex-
pense. in attendance upon agricultural
fairs we have often seen the calves of grade
bulls standing side by side with those of
scrub bulls of equal age, and being clearly
thai any one should have the least hesitan-
CIV i'm availing himself Of the means at hand
to improve his stock, was unaccountable.
The point, in relation to the improve
ment of cattle, is just here. If Improve
ment is to be made by those seeking to i'm
prove their stock, this class do not want to
start with grades, but with thoroughbreds,
and for the reason already stated. The
tact That some thoroughbreds sell we'll up