Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-11-01
The Most Economical Mode Of ImprOY-
ing Farm Stoek.

AAS 4sALAA OEOLAe
! 1t has quite commonly been the prac-
| hGe among farmers to attempt an i'm
prOQemsnt by commencing at the loves
round of the ladder. That is, they buy
a male having a moderate infusion of
improved blood, and trifling gain IN
| contour over the merest scrub. The
| little good in such an animal is lost in
The labyrinths of the scrub dam, while
full measure of ignoble blood mingles
with the one-half or three-fourths of
similar blood in the sire. Thus the two
| or four chances in sixteen depending
upon whether the sire is one-half or
three-quarters blood, gives but faint
chance for this trifing percentage to
stand up against the heavy odds on the
other side, Nothing could be more
natural than that the great preponder-
ance of similar blood in such dam and
sire should affiliate and almost entirely
give character to the offspring.
To attempt improvement by such
mode may rightly be compared to an
| attempt to improve the fruit-bearing
qualities of a tree by first ENGRAVING
with the sciOns from a tree which bears
fruit partially improved, simply because
| these could be bought for an insignifi-
SSIA4G fJl1CCs AL dbOCi1DIS at
ment in farm animals must, to degree,
be looked upon in the light of engraft-
ing, and practice must be carried out
on that basis. AS an illustration of the
great Importance of using a sire of
superior breeding and merit, we have
| only to remind the reader that he cannot
as a rule depend upon the sire trans
hitting more than half his good qualities
to his progeny, while in fruit grating
he can secure the full duplication of the
fruit of the higher quality through the
process of ENGRAVING upon the inferior
bearing tree.
The paying of prizes for animals
entered in breeding classes, merely be-
cause they chance to be shapely, form
ing an exception to the rule that breed
from high merit, on both sides, is the
only mode by which any guarantee of
uniform results can be had is, from
every point of view, wrong. In using
stock for breeding purposes, there
should be such merit fixed indelibly
upon it, as will give its likeness in every
duplication. Otherwise, breeders are
travelling away from any prospective
contamination, rather than making
steps towards it. With swine stock. it
is easy to attain to desired model, be-
cause the rapid duplication so cheapens
the material that there is no excuse for
using unworthy parentage on either
side. This enables one to approach
| towards a perfect model, while in breed
ing cattle and horse stock he is quite
likely to fail to secure the forms he has
| expected.
The feeder and the butcher are at no
loss in selecting the best individuals in
oh Of
know where the best meat is found,
and all know at first sight, the outward
contour under which they may look
for paying yield. But in the caseaof
the dairy cow, no such rule can be
relied on, and the breeding of dairy
| COWS that will quite regularly fill the pail,
| because they have been bred from
given model, has not been found prac-
| ticahle. Thus, inspection of a herd Of
dairy COWS being made. the question
was put to the owner as to which was
| the best COW in the herd, the annual
yield of milk being the criterion.
| He pointed to an Unlocking
brindIed COW, an unsightly beast
in every way Now it is not IN
| likely that an inspection of the herd on
an adjoining farm would have resulted
in showing that the finest looking COW
of the lot was the best mixer. So,
while in the case of meat-producing ami
mails and lighthouses there is no trouble
| in pointing out merit, it is different in the
case of mich COWS generally seen upon
| farms; and it is a question whether the
| capacity for a uniform yield can ever be
established except through the use of
purely bred bulls of the dairy breeds.
At any rate. these offer the only probable
solution of the question of effectual
and economical grading up for dairy
use. A man may buy herd of uniform
| ly large mixers, but he can not in life
! time breed such herd from native ma
| terial.
! In business transactions, as rule, it
is the quickly, turned penny that pays a
| profit. The movements upon the farm
| are governed by the same rule, and
! there is no procedure in which it cuts a
more important figure than in insuring
| a quick return when male of an adj
vanced type is used upon a female of
| lower grade. In using male Of supe-
rior breeding and merit, result is
reached by one cross that repeated eff
! forts may fail to secure if material low
| down in the scale is used. Crossing on
the last-named plan can not but end in
disappointment, not now and then only,
| but with much more persistent regulari-
! tv than when meritOrious sires are used,
| because there is ignoble blood in its
entirety upon on one side, as well as a
| predOminance of it on the Other.-Na-
! tioaaaI LjUe Stock Journal.
Fall Fashion Notes.