The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-12-14
VALUE OF PEDIGREE.
Facts In Breeding That Have Been
Reduced to General Laws.

W htAtfNt
Pure bred animals are those that
have been bred by careful selection Of
the best with a view to certain trait.
conformation or excellence of some
kind until that point has not only been
accomplished, but 50 iudclibly impress
ed that it will be uniformly transmit
ted to the offspring of such animals.
There are improved and degcneratcl
pure hrodS, says a correspondent of
The Prairie Farmer. The native scrub
breeds are degcneratcd pure brcds.
They are reduced by the laws of change
and self preservation 10 that common
level of degeneration that has made
them not only uniform in their kind,
but capable of reproducing that dcgon-
crate uniformity with rs much certain
ty as the improved animal rcproGuces
its improved characteristics. Tile law
of nature utilized by breeders Of I'M
proved domestic animals is that like
produces l.l,c;" but. like &H laws. IT has
its exceptions, and Wlgn an animal
docs uot reproduce It's ll.uGo+s we linl
its analogy i'm some uf it's ancestors.
u~ra,'r hotwycu me first 9al fourth
gem ution>. hence we H"Hyr trace a.
pel'4rce beyond the seventh gcUea-
ton In G.a1ing up I'D $ln.thou
breeding in EHglaul tur crosses arc
considered sufficient TO constitute
pure bred animal
In Jersey cattle an animal must trace
through an uun,o,cn line of imported
or island bred ancestors. in which
there is no miscellaneous blood in or
der to he entitled to Il register The
law in breeding being that "Iike pro
duccs like" the breeding animal itself
Its symmetry, constitution and high
order Of individual oScclloncc-is Of
first Importance. since in the main the
offspring resembles its Immediate an
costor. The pedigree is Of secondary
Importance, because by the law the off.
spring may. under the exceptions, find
its analogy or antelope in Il more re
mote ancestor. The ancestors Consti-
tute the pedigree. and their importance
as Il factor in the breeding value of an
animal grows out Of this exceptional
and occasional recurrence in finding a
resemblance. The resemblance may
be to any animal in Il pedigree to the
sixth or seventh generation, but is
most likely to be to the nearest in kin
In the past breeders have said much
Of the blood Of their animals-"go
blood" thorough blood" etc. While
certain breeding animals have in all
breeds established reputation for the
excellence Of their offspring for certain
desirable traits. making the blood Of
that animal a desirable element in
pedigree, we have advanced in the sci
encc of breeding until we not only want
the strain Of blood but want il through
its most excellent channels through
winners" y valuable pedigree is one
in which there is no faulty ancestor
within the range of the seventh gencr-
alton. An extraordinary pedigree is
one in which there is not only no faulty
ancestor, but one in which all of the
ancestors to which the animal may re-
vert in breeding are extraordinary of
their kind, so much so that the repro
ductiOn Of any one of them would be
satisfactory as Il breeding result. A
pedigree in which there are some extra
good animals and some decidedly faulty
ones is a faulty pedigree because Of
the risk of atavism or back breeding
and the possibility of copying the faulty
animal. Grades are therefore unccr-
tain in their breeding, as they may
copy after the improved side of their
pedigree or may copy after the scrub
side. They may breed irregularly, some
good ones, some bad ones. 4 first class
animal, with first class pedigree. is
the only enc to use for the best results
Then why does it not pay to he very
careful in selecting the foundation
stock for u herd Of any kind? \ herd
founded on such pedigrces means sue
cess