The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1916-11-10
SELECT HEAD OF HE'D
Wl1a GREAT CARE.
Purity Of Bleed Very Desirable, sut
Net An Absolute Guaranty OF
Excellence.

Net sasMeA attention 10 given to the
ssaeeaan II the head OF the herd
whether II ba . herd Of cattle, hogs OF
other farm animals. The fact that the
character Of the next generation OF
live stock, sal. soon, that OF the en-
tire breeding herd, will be determined
BY ths sire that is being used, should
be kept csRstsR.ly IN mind. The sire
sxsrts Al influence on the herd equal
- that Of ali the females combined,
aae fer this reason, much more care
aad study must be given to both MS
individual makeup and ancestry than
il necessary In case OF any tema'e
Rsahsr Of the herd.
Ths pedigree Of the male must oe
stxs4sd, not 90 much for the purpofe
Of fAd.sg therein the names OF Ia
nous ancestors which have peeh
sAsw axsxAls, as to form An estimate
40 to hs probabilities OF the male IN
asestion being able TO transmit the
essential qualities OF utility. The I'M
msd!ate parents exert by far the great
eat influence on the makeup Il
breeding qualities Of an individual. II
either parent is not strong and Vlsor-
GUS or If each Of these parents have
rot already produced other animals or
exceptional merit, It Is not consideFeI
COED business 10 pay a very large Pre-"
for one Of their offspring. Unless the
parents have proved their ability to
produce excellence In q large NUMBER
Of their offspring the chances are that
the animal in question will prove a
great disappointment. All of the
grandparents combined exert an infu-
ence about equal to one immediate
parent and that should be taken into
account. The influence OF any given
ancestor back Of the grandparents Is
so smaD &c to be practically a negll-
gible quantity.
After care has been exercised In the
selection Of the sire, both for tndl'
vidual excellence and good ancestry,
the real trial comes when the actual
breeding qualities Of the male are
tested out by mating him to a few fe-
males which have proved their merit
as breedsrs. II his sfsRrtng with
these females fail to show exceptional
merit, then hs should be discarded at
once aaa another young male tried out
In the same way until q satisfactory
one is found. Successful breeders are
always trying out young males for the
purpose Of having something reliable
In reserve. The failure to take this
precaution has been the undoing of
many excellent herds. Certainly NOT
more than one in four Of the most
promising offspring Of exceptional
parents, backed up by the best of an
,estry, V e really added anything to
the excellence Of the breed. The Sc
lection, then, by pedigree and individ'
uality, simply increases the chances
Of getting a satisfactory herd sire to
about one in four. The wise and sue
cessful breeder Is not willing to take
this risk. but prepares beforehand un.
til he is absolutely sure of his ground.
Not 30 much attention need be paid
to the selection of the herd sire in
case where the stock is kept for uttl'
tty alone, 90 In case Of q man raising
hogs for market, but in this case also
1t ia OF FIRST Importance that the herd
sire comes Of good parents and that
he ID strong and vigorous in every
way. Purity of blood Is no absolute
guaranty OF excellence. The chances
are that the pure-bred sire will be
able to transmit the desired qualities
with much more certainty than in
case Of the animal with o mixed an,
cestry. but vitality and proliflcacy
are the all-important and far-reachine
factors to be considered.
E. L. Jordan,
Louisiana State University