The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1902-06-26
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MISTAKES MADE BY
BREEDERS OF CATTLE.


BREEDERS OF CATTLE.
We have been wondering what
would happen in the vegetable king
dom were farmers and horticulturists
to habitual1y use immature seed and
stock or, in other words, whether de-
generation would to any degree fol-
low such practice In the animal
world it is at least certain that this
kind of thing cannot be done year
after year in a general way without
weakening stock If each year in a
herd of swine or flock of sheep the
immature females mated with
immature males it must be that after
a few years the entire stock is reduced
in point of size and strength and pro-
ductiveness to the average or cOmpos-
lite characteristics of the breeding
stock used. 1t would seem reasonable
to expect that where immature heif-
ers are bred to yearling bulls that
the size of the dairy animals upon
the farm will decrease and that their
productiveness may also be reduced
to that of the average heifer. In
swine the common plan of breeding
seems to be to use as breeding stock
the new crop of females from the
spring filters just soon as they can
be bred, and when we remember that
these females in many instances are
not fed heterogeneous foods it is the
easier understood that the results in
the way of pigs can hardly be salts
factory The breeding stock employed
is unfinished-not fully grown. not
properly nOurished to produce bone
| and muscle and constitutional vigor.
| Can we reasonably expect perfect re-
! suits from such mating? Will not all
| be brought to the level of the quality.
| constitution and characteristics of the
| stock mated? We think that this
| surely will be the effect in time-that
| it has been the effect already and
| that the effect has not been desira Bile.
| Why turn away the young eve or
SOW after she has bred once or twice
| and before she is really mature? Her
| progeny is as good as one can expect
| from such an animal and will I'M
| QueStiOnably improve as she natures.
| Why not let her mature then and re-
| tain her as a breeder just long as
| she remains healthy and fertile? We
| have seen C1ydesdare mare at thirty
| one years of age with a fine colt at
| foot and were told that she had rarely
| missed a season since first bred, and
| had produced fully as good colts after
she had become fully matured. We
| remember also that the famous
| CIydesda1e stallion Prince of Wales
(673) made his greatest success as a
| breeder after he had become some
what aged. It may be that he had
| then better mares as mates, but it IS
| also probable at least that his own
| DT00O1ng QuahC1GS ndO improved w
have seen many instances where the
old brood SOW was away ahead of the
young sows of even better blood wher
it came to comparison of numbers
of pigs produced in a litter and quail
ity of pigs produced. Such animals
should by all means be retained d!
breeders just as long as possible and
| receive at all times an abundance o
heterogeneous food to maintain then
perfectly and enable them to nouris1
their progeny perfectly before AM
after birth. The best females should
be bred yearly and immature stool
should not preponderate in the hero
or flock, nor should immature male:
be habituaIly used. At the same tim,
it is a plain error to continue using
a bull when he has become slow ana
decrepit. When his powers are wan
ing his progeny may lack constitu
| tiOnal strength and if such progen!
be employed for breeding purposes theil
progeny in turn may show degeneracy
Like produces like and good individ
ual character and constitution are alb
So1utely necessary as we'll as pedigree
Mere pedigree without correspondent:
merit as indicated, is useless in on
opinion, and where poor individual
eood-pedigreed males are also inlm a
ture and mated to females of the sam
sort we can only expect further de
generacy in the progeny. The mora
of what we have been pointing out i
plain, that it is important to full.
grow animals by complete feedin;
upon an abundance of heterogeneous
natural foods and then to breed onl,
such animals as are worthy represeE
tatives of their family and have ar
rived at fully mature age in tn
best of health and vigor- 1t would b
especially good for the swine indus
try were this plan of breeding NOR
generally followed hand in hand witt
the method of feeding indicated