The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1910-09-22
REGISTERED STOCK
AND OTHERWISE

|
tion have been carrying on Il crusade
against scrub stock, and not without
success. As a result of the agitation
farmers have turned 10y the hundreds
from the old nondescript scrub animal
to the purchase of pure-bred stock of
all kinds.
1t is here that the writer wishes to
urge a warning to farmers. The pen
dulum swings and while it is worse
than Improbable to breed scrub stock
| there are dangers in attempting to
breed pure-breds and many a farmer
has realized to his sorrow when it was
too late that there are "gold bricks
in the purchase of pure-breds as well
as in other lines of commerce. The
fact that in the past year four actual
cases in the County have been called
| to the attention of the writer where
farmers were lleeced thru their lack OF
knowledge of the case and thru the
unscrupulousness of the breeder en-
phasizes this point
1t might be well at this time TO de-
fine a few terms that are freely used
among farmers and breeders and yet
one half the time they are not used
correctly. \ scrub animal is the re-
suit of promiscuous breeding, Its an
cestry traces along no definite blood
lines. a pure bred animal is the re-
suit of generations Of true breeding.
Breeding has been carried toward one
definite purpose for so long that the
characters have become fixed and the
animal possesses the power to trans
NIT them to its offspring. \ grade is
the result OF the crossing Of a pure
bred with a scrub or vice versa. \
cross-bred is the result of the crossing
of two pure-breds possessing different
characters. \ registered animal is a
pure-bred which is recognized by some
breeding association and is so entered
in the herd-book of the Association.
\ Thoroughbred land this is a much
misused term) is breed of English
race-hOrse Just rs percheron is the
name of another breed. And all ami
mails are "full-blood" no matter what
the breeding.
Breeding is an art and when we but
look back over the history of the breeds
and see the ups and downs Of breeds
and breeders we realize that all farm
ers are not breeders. 1t is acase where
"Many are called but few are chosen"
1t is for this reason that farmers should
hesitate long before going into field
where none but artists are successful.
The use of pure-bred sircs is strongly
recommended. Use none but pure
bred sire and when buying, buy the
best that the breed and the pocket
book can afford The best is none too
good, and no farmer is so rich that he
can afford TO breed his females to any
thing less than pure-brcd. Again we
can turn to the history Of the breeds
and note the improvement due to the
selection of the sire, and the scrub
can mean no Improvement. His breed
| ing is promiScuouS and he does not
possess the power to transmit his char
acter to his offspring. The use of grade
sires is also TO be condemned TO un-
derStand the value of grade We can
but compare the pedigree to that of a
pure-bred. a pure-bred has been bred
| pure, generation after generation, for
sometimes hundreds Of years. A grade
is usually the result Of three or four
top crosses and often not as many Too
often farmers are misIcd by the fact
that grade will many times transmit
his color markings to his offspring.
Alas he would only transmit some
of the more desirable characters.
There are in the country to-day humid
reds of so-called Jerseys that possess
less Jersey blood than scrub and yet
they have the buiI color and beautiful
fawn like appearance Of the Jersey,
and the Jersey breed as well as the
owner is the loser on account of the
existence of these scrubs, for scrubs
they are in the full sense of the term:
but the Jersey breed is given credit
for these mongreIs. The writer has
taken Jersey for IN example merely
because the Jersey breed was perhaps
the first dairy-brccd to be generally