The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-04-22
Too Late to Do Any Good
With 1917 Product-lm-
prove Future Livestock.
PURE BRED SlRES
Character of Father Will
Soon Be Evident in This
Seasons Offspring.

Spring ever marks the coming OF
new life on the farms. Not only do
buds swell and burst and new grasses
green the hillsides and meadows, but
the barnyard is likewise full Of life and
activity. Long-legged. awkward colts
amble closely to their mothers sides,
white faced calves sleep in the spring
sunshine, white fleeced lambs frOlic
with reckless abandon and rollickin g
porkers vie with each other in interest
in their meals. These young animals
are here now. What they will amount
to in the future depends largely on
their feed and care; there is no way
Of changing their form now. The In.
Nuences which determine their con-
formation. constitution and quality
were expended at last years breeding
season. The youngsters whose sires
were potent have in them qualities
which will soon make themselves APP
parent.
While we cannot change the char
acter Of the livestock crop for 1917.
II is within our power to work great
changes and improvements in that Of
next spring. Soon the breeding sea-
son will start for horses and cattle,
for hogs and sheep we must wait I'M
til fall. What type OF sires are you
using on your farm? Are your young
animals starting out in life with the
49, 70 al; xyttI he
influence of pure blood show up In
them as the days pass by?
The Sire's Influence.
A volume could be written on the
influence OF the pure-bred sire. We
cannot do more than touch it here.
For generations men have been breed
ing and selecting various breeds of
livestock because OF their fitness or
ability to meet certain conditions. For
example. where early maturity is de-
sired, for generations the early matur-
ing types have been bred with that
end in view. Naturally az generation
after generation is so bred the quality
Of early maturity becomes stronger
and stronger, more fixed as it were
1t stands to reason that in the offspring
Of an animal SO bred this quality will
be present even though the animal
may be mated to another beast no,
possessing this quality, but Of mixed
and uncertain breeding. This quality
may not be possessed in the grade
thus produced to the same extent as in
the purebred, but it will present to a
sire or dam. as the case may be. Sc
II Is with all the desirable qualities oil
the pure-bred animal; they are more
or less fixed by gen erations OF breed
Ing and because Of that the animal
possesses the prepotency TO transmit
them to the next generation. Thus it is
within the power of a pure bred bull tt
make his calves take after himself In
form and other important qualities
even though they may come from
grade or scrub cows.
Will Pay for Himself.
The pure bred sire will easily pa,
for himself. Calves from ~ pure bre,
bull, on an average, are easily worth
S. more for beef as yearlings thar
those from scrub bull. for not onl,
VIII they be uniform. but of better con.
formation and size as well. Thus, 6
bull costing 5000 would have to sire
but 40 calves to pay for himself Tn.
same principle, with varying ratios O
values applies to all forms of farm