Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-10-08
LIKE Begets Like a Pixsd Law.
NOTHING CAN CHANGE A TYPE ONCE
ESTABLISHED, EXCEPT ALTERED con-
DrTIoHs Oh Cross BREEDING.

Il
any variation In tho kind Of . crop.
When tho stock breeder goes to Work u
lies largely with his own Judgment and
skill whether or not he produces an I'm,
proved animal. Continued selection and
hybridixation have made farm crops
what they are, and with ordinary cult
vstion there 10 little tendency to deteri-
cate. In the case Of livestock, . single
generation may mako the greatest dif-
ference either for better or for worse. IL
cannot fail to strike the observer how
wonderfully uniform In appearance Wild
animals are. Rabbits, squirrels, foxes,
etc., are each An exact reproduction OF
tho type. This IL not the case with the
domesticated animal. The moro the
breeding of the stock has been kept un-
der control, the moro variable the stock
may be, II that control is injudicious.
A short examination of the general
principle is that like begets like. The
wild rabbits of certain district will be
found all alike In color, size and general
appearance. In different districts We
find rabbits of different type, although
they may be descended from the same
original stock. This brings Us to . fur.
ther principle, that the circumstances OF
life modify type; where circumstances
are favorable, We have the large, we'll
developed type; where unfavorable, the
type 10 pinched and dwarfed. Now, In
ond principle works in the large breeds
of cattle, horses and sheep that are
our farm livestock we see how this sec.
found on the good land and the small
breeds that occur In the mountainous
districts. Contrast the Shorthorn COW
with the Kerry, the Shire horse with the
Connemara pony, the Roscommon sheep
with any of the mountain breeds OF
sheep. So strong Is the circumstance OF
life that the true type OF the mountain
breed cannot be reared on the good, low.
lying land. The first generation OF
calves from Kerry cows on the rich low.
lands will be larger and coarser when iuii
grown than the original Kerry. The
first principle of breeding-like begets
established the Importance OF
pedigree Of blood. When animals are
all of one strain of blood from time I'm.
memorial, they all settle down to ons
type. There is no reason why they
should vary. The male element and
the female element work together to fx
the type. When . cross takes place be-
tween animals Of two different types,
whether different strains OF the same
breed or different breeds, there 10
struggle for influence between the dif-
ferent types. As . result, the progeny
NAV show some Of the points Of each OF
the parents, or, sometimes, may resemble
one Of the parents very closely and show
no resemblance to the other.
These variations are not arbitrary.
Where the male and the female elements
are both equally pure bred, the progeny
usually show mixture Of characteristics.
Where one element is pure bred and the
other il cross-bred the pure bred type
predominates In the young. The blood
of the pure bred parent Is preponent
over the other parent, because 1t has
fixed type, whereas the other is mix
ture Of types without any hxity. This
explains the prejudice OF experienced
breeders against mongrel sires. They
may be fine looking animals, perfect In
every external point, but they have
little, If any, prepotency. They may
produce strong, healthy stock, but there
Is no certainty that this product will not
cast back to the inferior strain OF the
blood. The average run OF female live
stock throughout the country 10 OF In
definite breeding, 30 there can be no
certainty what the product will be like
If they are mated with badly bred sires.
With the same class Of stock the pure
bred sire will impress his own good
quality on the offspring.
Among dairy cattle the Influence OF
the pure bred sire will tell, not only In
the shape and constitution of the calves,
but also In the milking capacity OF the
COWS. This influence will be for good II
the sire comes from . line Of milking
cattle; 1t will be for bad II he comes from
q non-dairy family. A pure bred bull OF
beef producing type will spoil dairy
herd, just because Of the prepotency
which his pure bred breeding gives him.
This is no argument against the use OF
pure bred sires in such cases; 1t only
shows the necessity Of understanding
every aspect Of the principle "like begets
like"
The same principle holds In the %
lecting Of parents Of good constitution.
Delicate or unsound parents, poor feed
ers, poor mixers, or vicious, bad tenn
pered animals are apt to produce these
qualities In their progeny. The farmer
who keeps before his mind the principle
that like begets like and who remembers
that 1t is applicable in full sense only
to animals Of pure blood, has made one
step In tho direction Of making bis stock
moro profitable. II he breeds for milk
he will find out the best Of bis COWS BY
Keeping record Of their produce and
will mate them with pure bred bull OF
q good dairy strain. This Ii important,
for In the same breed OF cattle there 10
much variation In dairy capacity. II he
breeds for beef he will take those heifers
which show the earliest maturity and
quickest fattening qualities and will mate
them with bull Of an early maturing
beef type. It 10 all matter Of selection.
No farmer need have Improbable live
stock II he will make II . point OF sell
ing the bad ones and breeding only from
tho good.-William Hardy, Illinois, In
Tribune Farmer.