The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-11-09
THE BREEDING OF STOCK.


for the purpose of arriving at results
which are sought as possibility, al
though the breeding may begin in a
manner that does not apparently war
rant him in proceeding with his ven
ture. Some breeders. among them
Bakcwcll and Western, were 80 years
in pcrIecting one breed of sheep and
swine. Every animal sold by them
put the purchaser thirty years ahead
in the line Of Improvement. They SIM
ply selected the best for breeding pur-
poses every year, and were compelled
to imbreed their animals in order to
fix their characteristics. The farmer
must pursue the same course with his
herds and flocks, and he must make
his selections each year by discarding
every animal that does not come up to
a certain standard of excellence, and
he must never become discouraged, as
even the most skillful breeders do not
succeed in securing but few very
valuable specimens each year, though
an Improvement will be noticed every
season. The gain is but little, and
skill is essential, but in time the stock
differs greatly from the original.
Should extraordinary excellence be OBJ
served in certain individuals the breed
er may abandon his plans and meth
DDS and start on new lines of breeding,
as he learns by experience during his
progress and takes advantage of acci-
dent of discoveries, but he always adj
heres to his original object of making
a breed that is to be adapted to spe-
cial purpose.
INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE.
Even among the breeds of live stock
some individuals will be more valua-
ble for certain uses than others, and
those with the highest records may
not display their best points of excel
lence until selected for breeding. This
is evidenced by the wonderful running
horses Of half century ago-Lexing-
ton and Glencoe. The first held the
four-mile record for over twenty years,
while the latter was one of the fleetest
in England, being imported into this
country. Neither left son that was
q successful sire, the daughters of both
were the dams of the best horses of
their day, and their descendants are
the leaders of the turf in both coun-
tries at the present time, there being
but few Derby winners that have not
descended from Glencoe. Among cat
tie the same has occurred. Jupiter,
Rioter, Stoke Pogis, Coomassie, Euro
tus and other individuals founded fam
lilies of Jerseys that have made that
breed famous, yet there were hun
dreds of Jerseys in existence and the
breed had already established its claim
as ranking high for producing butter.
Any breed will lose its prestige if the
selection of the best individuals is not
strictly adhered to; and all breeders
rely more upon the exploits of certain
members of their herds or focks than
upon the whole, for, no matter how
careful the breeder may be, or how ju-
diciously he may mate his animals, he
will have some that will fall below the
standard of excellence.
TIE FARMER AS A BREEDER.
If the experienced breeder of pure
bred stock is compelled to continually
select and breed from the sires and
dams it should be more important for
the farmer not only to improve with
pure-bred sires but to use only the
best to be obtained But the majori-
tv of farmers are disposed to purchase
the 'culls" of the breeder for breeding
purposes and are disappointed il they
do not secure good results. 1t is never
profitable to use an inferior animal for
any purpose, more especially when
grading up head or flock, as the bet
ter the greater his influence. Worth
less sires should rather he avoided, as
they entail loss of time, labor and
money. The male is "half the herd" !"
and every young animal partakes Of
his characteristics, their value depend
ing upon the excellence of the herd is
in exact ratio with the influence Of that
parcn+. Pedigree is safeguard and
protection, but pedigree alone is not
to be relied upon. The form, disposi-
ton, health and other indications must
assist in selection, but rs some sires
can give no evidence Of their value un-
til tried, the pedigree should never be
overlooked, as it points out the several
families among breeds that have ex-
celled and also the best individuals
among those families. Every farmer
should ,ii.iravJr to be breeder and
also to breed to a standard of excel
lence by selecting the best to be Oh
tanned os any breed.
To realize the truth of the saying,
Where ignorance is bliss it's folly to
be wise," one has only to spend a hot
summer evening with a young woman
who thinks she has a fine voice.