The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1916-08-12
SELECT HEAD OF HERD
WITH GREAT CARE.
Not An Absolute Guaranty of
Exceiience.

Not enough attention Is given to the
selection CT the head or the herd,
whether I. be herd of cattle, hogs or
other farL. animals. The fact that the
character Of the next generation of
live stock. and. soon, that Of the en-
tire breeding herd, will be determined
by the sire that is being used, should
be kept constantly in mind. The sire
exerts an influence on the herd equal
to that of all the females combined,
and for this reason, much more care
and study must be given to bota his
individual makeup and ancestry than
is necessary in case of any female
member of the herd.
The pedigree of the male must be
stuoled, not so much for the purpose
of finding therein the names of ia
nous ancestors which have been
show animals. as to form an estimate
as to the probabilities of the male in
question being able to transmit the
essential qualities of utility. The i'm
mediate parents exert by far the great
est influence on the makeup and
breeding qualities of an individual. If
either parent Is not strong and vigor-
Gus, or if each Of these parents have
not already produced other animals of
exceptional merit, it is not considered
good business to pay very large price
for one Of their offspring. Unless the
parents have proved their ability to
produce excellence in a 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 infiu-
ence about equal to one immediate
account. The influence of any given
ancestor back of the grandparents is
so sman as to be practically a negli-
gible quantity.
After care has been exercised in the
selection of the sire. both for indi-
vidual excellence and good ancestry,
the real trial comes when the actual
breeding qualities of the male are
tested out by mating him to few fe-
males which have proved their merit
as breeders. II his offspring with
these females fail to show exceptional
merit, then he should be discarded at
once and another young male tried out
in the same way until a 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
cestry. ever really added anything to
the excellence of the breed. The Sc
lection, then, by pedigree and individ-
uaiity, 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 so much attention need be paid
to the selection of the herd sire in
case where the stock is kept for utiI
ity alone, as in case of a man raising
hogs for market, but in this case also
It is of first importance that the hero
sire comes Of good parents and that
he is 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 a mixed an.
cestry. but vitality and prolificacy
are the a&l-important and far-reaching
factors to be considered.
E. L. Jordan,
Louisiana State University