Hil SRELDING a ||FARM ANIMALS io 1 MARSHALL, Book -| Grymet NO COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. rae i heh ek re ye ine y rey a 2 3 ea im 3 Vie it ea bs Uf As Wa ip cana | Phil MRE Ri walla tel Bey ratty bh HN i ‘ i - . AMD | Paka chr y PER ORT: . ay : {er ehes ise hi This book is dedicated to the memory of the late Professor John A. Graig in remembrance of extraordinary service to agricultural education in establishing the teaching of animal husbandry. Breeding Farm Animals By F. R. Marshall Professor of Animal Husbandry Ohio State University COPYRIGHT, 1911. SANDERS PUBLISHING Co. All rights reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. CHAP, I.—EARLIER STOCK BREEDING. The Arabian Horse—French Horse Breeding—The Thor- oughbred—British Stock—Robert Bakewell—lInflu- ence of Bakewell’s work—Dates of Foundings of the IBGECUS = sisic sc en Riatlat anahahes a, otartetione. oie tater ste volanle tensions Gere) ata comte eats CHAP, II—AMERICAN STOCK BREEDING. European Stock in America—The American Trotter— Draft Horses from Europe—Coach Horses—Cattle Importations—Advent of Breeds of Sheep—American Breeds of Swine—Hindrances to Stock Raising— Proportion of Registered Stock—Need of Good Stock —State Aid—lIederal Aid—Breeders’ Opportunities CHAP. III.—HEREDITY. Secrets in Breeding—Indefinite Expressions of Breeders— Results of Experience—Bakewell’s Principles— Breeders’ Desideratum—Heredity—Heredity has a PE ySiCalliee BSaSIS) sei. oie aie tavens cates sacenore)suey ine cei (one) sieereopmenameds CHAP. IV.—FACTS CONCERNING REPRODUCTION. Female Reproductive Organs—Male Reproductive Organs— Essentials of Conception—Barrenness—Sterility— Number of Services—Size of Litter—Influence of SST es aT Cle 1) AIT AS eyes. roe eo fomtetig ins oRaxe toner occ eacrene) sem iey auctensr cuomamens CHAP. V.—THE GERM CELLS. Cell Growth—The Chromatin—The Chromosomes—Prep- aration of the Germ Cells—Significance of the Chro- MMO SOME S——Be Te elUl72A) bl O Vane deter erence adekeiell ale to reeel stellen tieceielersie CHAP. VI—THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL. Scientists and Breeders—Inheritance Through Chromo- somes—Possible Chromosome Combinations in Ovum —Possible Chromosome Combinations in Spermato- zoa—Equally Probable Results of Fertilization— Why Related Animals Differ—Basis of Controlling TH IST eeyG Weta oa aeeeclin act cay eek ete ose reg nS Oro ERENCE EO ORC PCR 15—21 a2 32—39 40—47 48—58 59—64 6 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS CHAP. VII.—ORIGIN OF THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL, The Problem—Necessity and Value of Theory—Darwin’s Theory—An Opposite View—Pangenesis—Continuity of Germ Plasm—The Explanations Compared—Re- lation (of 4eractice: cor thes ne orleSi. sh eis e es oleate re CHAP, VIII—BREEDING AND SELECTION. Basis of Control of Heredity—Why Offspring Resembles Parents—Ancestry and Prepotency—How Atavism WED IOC CU is cage eden sore EN DID Re aie Mee tae he ot a en eeeMej ue eeteads 65—72 CHAP. IX.—INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN BREEDING ANIMALS. Foundation Stock—Types—Value of Type—Need of Full Study—Breeder must be a Judge—Prepotency— Character—Significance of Character—Age and Pre- DOLEMGV—— ACN wile OLIN Ser crselted clielts cere) elleliclleehelicliedslis rar arent i anaantle CHAP. X.—PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS. Progeny the Best Test—Form of Pedigree—All Ancestors Must be Studied—Breeding Records of Parents— Similarity of Type in Parents—Value of Show Awards—Fair Estimate of Sire—Advanced Registers —Obscured Merit—Grandparents—Near and Remote Ancestors—Fashion and Family Names—Significance of Breeders’ Names—Correctness of Pedigrees...... 79—92 CHAP. XI—THE OFFSPRING DURING GESTATION, Relation of Foetus to Dam—Effect Upon Foetus of Mater- nal Impressions—Need of Care in Management—Nu- trition of Offspring—Feeding the Dam—Growth of Bovine Foetus—Influence of a Previous Impregna- CLOTS — fo ave teseuentovcuctioe toes ontovabensy ai eriofenshre Neneh Fis Saas enaceiters Aen (OUBIO.O CHAP, XII.—DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG STOCK. What Constitutes Environment—Improved Stock for Im- proved Environment—Feeding Must Support Breed- ing—Feeding While Young—Good Care Aids Selec- tion—Transmission of Effects of Environment— Biologists on Transmitted Development—Acquired Development in Trotters—Claimed Transmission of Acquired Development—Inheritance Not Related to Sire’s Age—How Development Aids Selection— 111—120 Actual Role wiOf) BinvvitcOntme hie snaceieyteincneterensteie ....121—136 TABLE OF CONTENTS 7 CHAP, XIII—DETERMINATION OF SEX. Influence of Time of Breeding—Influence of Body Condi- tions—Alternating Ova—Influence of Stronger Par- ent—Effect of Nutrition—Experimental Evidence— Experiments with Butterflies—The Evidence from Bees—Sex Probably Determined at Conception—The Accessory Chromosome—Significance of the Acces- sory Chromosomes—Undesirability of Sex Control. .137—148 CHAP. XIV.—FOUNDATION AND MANAGEMENT OF A BREEDING BUSINESS. Breeding an Art—The Breeder’s Personal Equipment— Judging Ability—Impartiality Essential—Value of Breed History—Salesmanship—Advertising—Exec- utive Ability—Wealthy Breeders—Location—Home Grown Feeds—Strain More Important Than Breed— Starting from Market Stock—Not How Many, But How Good—Cheap Foundation Stock—Merit in Both Parents Essential—The First Sire—The Sec- ond Sire—Phenomenal Sires—Culling the Females— Uniformity in Females—Value of Long Established HNCRdS. estes 6 3s ie enero Br aiensiens eae feuterers atest Muhilen. cuen ener 149—166 CHAP. XV.—INBREEDING AND LINE BREEDING. Inbreeding Defined—Line Breeding—Opposition to Inbreed- ing—Thomas Bates and Inbreeding—Barrenness in Early Duchesses—Swine Statistics—Laboratory Ex- periments—Benefits of Inbreeding—American Here- ford Breeding—The Gentry Berkshires—The Prin- ciple of Inbreeding—Inbreeding per se—Risk in Out Breeding—When to Inbreed........-...esce0% Sather aes 167—187 CHAP, XVI.—MENDEL’S LAW. Breeding in the Future—Beginnings of New Characters— Mutation—Polydactylous Guinea Pigs—DeVries Ex- periments—Cause of Mutation—Cross Breeding for New Characters—Mendel—Mendel’s Experiments— Mendel’s Law—How Mendelian Proportions Occur— Purity of Gametes—Mendelism in Animals—Unit Characters—Application of Mendel’s Law—Limita- tions of Mendelism—Non-Mendelian Characters— Needisot “Seeders iekve Conds rer-uieisisionenenctenersiatene Sere viase 188 CHAP, XVII—BREED RELATIONS. The Place of Breeds—Evolution of Types—Need for Nu- merous Breeds—Distribution of BreedsS—Community Breeding—Value of Shows—Basis of Awards—Ad- 8 £ BREEDING FARM ANIMALS vanced Registration—Registration in the Future— Cross Breeding—Crossing Types—Pure Breeds for Crossing—Limits of Improvement—HEffects of Inju- dicious Breeding—Breeding for Vigor and Prolifi- CA CV ie eae ay chloe che rouse Teo etenes wie abaceiaaravorie tate te Sie retetes e osiens welewene 2 CHAP. XVIII—BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATIONS. Origin of Registration—Advantage of Single Registers— Conduct of Herd Books—Relation of Government— Canadian Registration Affairs—Eligibility to Regis- tration—Other Functions of Breed Associations. .2 CHAP, XIX.—HORSE BREEDING. Place of the Draft Horse—Cities Set Prices—Earlier Draft Horse Affairs—American Breeding—The Depression —The Revival—Advantages of Foreign Breeders— Stallion Raising—Influence of the Auto-Truck— Breed for top of Market—Draft Types—Market Discrimination—Breeding Carriage Horses—Good Breeding an Essential—Breeding Trotters......... 2 CHAP, XX.—CATTLE BREEDING. Influence of the Range—Beef and Valuable Lands—. American Progress in Herefords—Evolution of Types —HEarly Maturity and Size—Advance of Dairying— Advantages of Dairying—Professional and Commer- cial Breeders—Superiority for Dairy Purposes— Breed Tests—Advances in Dairy Breeding—Form and Function—Extra Influence of Sire—Testing BE eedimMes UCO WSs Hersiacetencta: stele cie pete oa er ckene io cclleeta ier arin e i CHAP. XXI—SHEEP BREEDING. Environment for Sheep—Economy of Sheep Raising— English Shepherding—Pedigrees not to be Ignored— Breed Type—Fine Wools in America—Maintaining nilaWeye 4 DANG OXetenoeBove Uo GO okostr DIC-O, CUO IE Gm OROLO,eS-O DiC ONGC Ge Lishcey Suva: 2 CHAP, XXII.—_SWINE BREEDING. Need of Improvement—Breed Building—Extremes Needed —Results of Extremes—~Show Type—Opening for More Breeds—Mixing Types—Continuity in Farm Breeding—Conservative Breeders—Breeders’ Re- 09—221 22—230 31—247 48—265 66—277 ward eevee eereeereereer eee eeereeeeereeeeseeseeeeeeee eee 278—287 PREFPAGE. Stock-farming is growing more popular both in theory and in practice. A scientific study of crop production ‘makes clear the necessity of feeding the crops on the farm and the market conditions have afforded encourage- ment to the breeders and feeders of good stock. In crop-growing and in stock-feeding, much practical aid has been furnished by the scientists, notably the chem- ists. The breeders naturally look to the biologists for assistance, but up to the present any directions they may have received have been quite indefinite and not always practical ones. Notwithstanding the contrary hopes of some earnest and sanguine investigators, it does not seem that the breeding of animals can ever be made an occupation of wholly certain results. Professional breeders of long experience control quite largely the inheritances of their animals. The most that the non-professional or the be- ginning breeder can hope to accomplish through study is to acquaint himself with the guideposts familiar to those discerning persons who have reached success along the same road. The main object of this book is to direct attention away from profitless speculations that have necessarily characterized some earlier books, and to stimulate interest in the more tangible, the physical basis of heredity. A (9) 10 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS scientific study of the physical aspects of heredity leads to conclusions that fully accord with the teachings of the work of our master breeders. It has been the aim to limit discussion to points upon which scientific opinion is quite well agreed, though this has not been altogether possible. Free consultation of the references cited will give a deeper acquaintance with scientific aspects of the question. : I am particularly indebted to Professors F. L. Land- acre and H. W. Vaughan for the assistance they have given me. Since this manuscript was prepared “Phys- iology of Reproduction” has come from the pen of F. H. A. Marshall, D.D. This is a most valuable treatise and contains much to add definiteness to the subjects treated in Chapters IV and V. PR MARS EAE: Ohio State University. INTRODUCTION. It has been said that agriculture is the foundation of all commerce. The records of advances in agriculture parallel quite closely those of national advancement. The ability to adapt the gifts of nature to the needs of man is well exemplified in the changes that have been effected in the domestic animals that play so important a part in the sustenance of the nation. Domestic animals and their products occupy a very important place in the commerce of the United States. At the close of the first decade of the twentieth century the value of animal products sold from and consumed on farms was equal to one-third of $100 for every mem- per of the population of the entire country. This has no regard for the large value of work horses used in both city and country. There are numerous reasons for believing that stock raising will hold a much more prom- inent place in the future than it has in the past in Ameri- can agriculture. A contrast of our conditions with those obtaining in older countries shows that a part of our trade is based upon the fact that we still have considerable areas of low-priced lands upon which we rear stock at a cost that permits other nations to buy from us. But with the ultimate occupation of all our lands which are arable, this inequality of conditions affecting production must } (11) 4 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS disappear. It is impossible to fully foresee future con- ditions, but the opinion seems general and not unreason- able that in considerable part our methods must so change as to result in the production of a large proportion of dairy products. The prosperity of such thickly popu- lated countries as Holland and the Island of Jersey, in which dairy farming is the chief interest, adds much force to this idea, though it must be considered that in those countries a minimum of the labor is performed by hired help. The cornbelt enjoys peculiar natural ad- vantages favoring the growth of its chief crop and it seems likely that for some time to come this section will furnish an important part of the world’s supply of meats and of lard. For every demand for animals for service or as sources of food and clothing there has been produced a special kind of animal. This has also extended to the production of means of recreation and display, as shown in our lighter classes of horses, much of whose service is not immediately connected with trade or ordinary ne- cessities of living. In addition to supplying expressed demands for consumption the work of breeding and adaptation has furnished breeds and families, each char- acterized by special propensities that peculiarly adapt them to conditions having to do with the economy of production in some particular section or under some par- ticular system. The group of breeds comprising each of our common classes of stock—horses, cattle, sheep and swine—have sprung from a small number of types of original pro- genitors rendered somewhat distinct by habits and char-_ INTRODUCTION 1S acteristics which enabled them to survive the rigors and vicissitudes of natural conditions. When viewed as a whole the work of the separation and perfection of so many separate and distinct types from so few natural types appears as a task impossible to human agency even in an indefinite length of time. When we recall that the chief part of this accomplishment covers less than 200 years the marvel grows and an understanding of the principles involved becomes extremely desirable. When we also consider the fact that a large and increas- ing majority of the agricultural population is chiefly engaged in the production of such animals and that much skill and application are required to maintain the present state of excellence of these numerous breeds, the interest attaching to the principles involved takes on a more practical character. Add to this the further consideration that new breeds are still being added and the older ones are steadily evolving into more specialized and artificial forms, and the estimate of the practical importance of the question is still further heightened. 14 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS A SHORT-HORN HERD AT GRASS. CHAPTER I. EARLIER STOCK BREEDING, The first notable achievement in adapting animals to human needs as related to our present-day industry was the development of the Arabian The Arabian horse. ‘The occupation and manner Frorse: of living common to the Arabian tribes rendered them dependent upon the fleetness and stamina of their horses. Shorn of all exaggeration and romance which literature has attached to these horses it is undeniable that for their time they were well calculated to be at once the wonder and de- spair of other peoples. Realizing the great advantage en- joyed in the superiority of their horse, the Arabs very cleverly and wisely surrounded his rearing with an at- mosphere of mystery and guarded against his dissemina- tion so as to long retain for themselves the blood which had taken them so long to purify from the coarseness and variableness of its ancestors. The peculiar location of France caused its early mon- archs to especially interest themselves in the horse stocks of their dominions. Because of the French probability of being on unfriendly Horse-Breeding. terms with adjoining countries from which the French soldiery would naturally be horsed it was endeavored to encourage and (15) 16 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS facilitate the rearing and maintenance of superior horses in order that they might be available for the armies in times of war. ‘Though seriously interrupted at inter- vals this national assistance to French horse-raising has been continued and was never more efficient nor extended than at the present time. Wuth the exception of some aid to the improvment of fine-wooled sheep, similar aid has not been extended to the other classes of stock. The blood of the Arabian was considerably used at an early date to refine the coarser native stocks, but a principal factor in production of existing types of horses has been the demands for special types of service and the use for breeding of those horses found most suitable to the de- mands of the prevailing kinds of labor. In later years the Arabian horse has been used but little. England also drew from the stock of the Arabians in her work of perfecting the light horse for racing pur- poses, and the work was encouraged The by King James I, who imported Thoroughbred. horses from the Orient in the early part of the seventeenth century. The succeeding reign saw other and more numerous im- portations of eastern stock, but it was the performance of Eclipse, foaled in 1764 and a great-great-grandson of a horse imported in 1706, which marked the supremacy of the British-bred horses on the race course. The prog- eny of other horses of the same period showed that, though indebted to the Arabian, the skillful methods of selection practiced by English breeders had produced a much superior animal for their purposes. Whether or not early improvers of farm stock profited EARLIER STOCK BREEDING Wg by the work of the horse breeders we cannot tell, but it was in the latter part of the British eighteenth century that there was Stock. inaugurated a most notable im- provement of British farm stock. This era of stock improvement resulted in the origina- tion of over a score of separate and distinct useful breeds of horses, cattle, sheep and swine, all well known in America today. American agriculture has drawn mainly on Britain for its live stock. That this is not due to an unreasoned preference for institutions of the mother country is shown by the patronage of continental breed- ers of Percheron horses, Holstein-Friesian cattle and Rambouillet sheep. Inasmuch as we still import from that small island, the area of which is scarcely equal to that of an average state, considerable numbers of six breeds of cattle, four of horses, nine of sheep and three of swine, the foundation of its animal husbandry is of more than ordinary interest. Although our chief inter- est is centered in events that transpired subsequent to 1760, it is not necessary to assume that animal husbandry was entirely chaos previous to that time.* British agri- culturists of that day appreciated the relation of stock feeding to crop yields. It was recognized that the ani- mals of some counties were quite distinct from those of other counties in their rate and manner of growth and fattening qualities. The necessity of using the best ani- mals as breeders was understood and regarded by some, though it cannot be said that there was anything like a general application of that principle. *For a full review of earliest breeding see Darwin, ‘‘Animals and Plants under Domestication,’ chapter "20, 18 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS The development of British breeds of live stock dates from 1760. It was at about this time that Robert Bake- well* assumed the management of Robert the estate on which his father and Bakewell. grandfather had resided at Dish- ley in Leicestershire. Although his most notable success was achieved with the sheep known as Bakewell or Dishley Leicesters, his work in the breeding of Longhorn cattle has been of inestimable value to all branches of the breeding in- dustry. The practices he relied upon in his breeding of Longhorn cattle are still the mainstay of breeders throughout the world. The accomplishments of Bakewell served his entire country. His surplus stock became distributed through the adjoining counties, but of more Influence of Bake- importance than this was the force well’s Work. of his example and the spread of in- formation regarding the marked improvement he had effected and his means of attaining his ends. With the need for stock raising becoming more and more apparent and the more discriminating demands of consumers of meats, the example of Bakewell lent an impetus to British stock interests which resulted in that country’s reaching the foremost position which she still occupies. The earliest Short-horn breeders, the Colling brothers, were students of Bakewell’s and aroused world-wide at- tention by the prices received at their sale in 1810. “The life and work of Bakewell is well described in an article in the 1894 Report of the “Journal of the Royal Agricultural So- ciety.” EARLIER STOCK BREEDING 19 On the western side of England the cattle raisers of Herefordshire had produced a class of cattle adapted to their climate and system of raising, but the most ef- fectual improvement was effected by men who were con- temporaries of Bakewell or lived after his time. In 1822 a start was made in recording the pedigrees of Short-horn cattle and a similar work for the Here- fords was commenced in 1846. It Dates of Founding was not until 1862 that Scotch of the Breeds. breeders of Angus and Galloway cattle provided registration for their cattle though they had attained more than local eminence prior to that date. The Red Polled cattle of Norfolk and Suffolk counties were first recorded in 1874 and the De- vons were recorded in 1851. The improvement of the sheep stock seems to have followed more closely after the work of Bakewell than did that of cattle. It was upon his Leicester sheep that the fame of this great breeder of Dishley chiefly rested and it is not surprising that the shepherds should have been the first to emulate his example of improvement. Al- though we have a seeming profusion of breeds of British sheep, each was the result of the endeavors of breeders of a particular county to perfect a breed that would be the most economical producer under their conditions of cli- mate and soil and their systems of cropping and feeding. Though there was some use of older breeds in some cases, still the distinguishing characteristics of size and color of face are mainly traceable to similar appearances that happened to be present in the original native stock. Al- though breeders of Leicesters were working in co-opera- 20 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS tion prior to the death of Bakewell, the system of reg- istering pedigrees of sheep was not adopted until many years after most of the breeds had been developed and had earned a general popularity in their respective sec- tions. At an early date Gloucester and parts of adjoining shires has become known for the distinctive character- istics of the sheep native to that section. During the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nine- teenth century this breed, the Cotswold, received liberal infusion of the blood of the more refined and easy feed- ing Leicester. Considerable numbers of descendants of Bakewell’s flock also found their way into neighboring shires to modify some of the weaker features of the stock that had been developed there. By the close of the first quarter of the nineteenth cen- tury the farmers of the chalky hill lands of the shire of Sussex had, without resort to other blood, brought their’ sheep to a-high order of utility. John Eiiman and Jonas Webb did extraordinary service in the per- fection of this breed, the Southdown, and though we can- not say what their familiarity with Bakewell’s work was, the product of their efforts has been distributed even more widely than the stock reared at Dishley. In succeeding years the Southdown sheep made a strong impression on those of Hampshire and still later the stock of Hampshire was drawn upon to mate with Cotswolds for the formation of a type with the most useful combination of characteristics for the agriculture of Oxfordshire, and the sheep bearing this latter name were admitted to separate classification at the 1862 show EARLIER STOCK BREEDING 21 of the Royal Agricultural Society. Nine years previous the same recognition had been accorded the descendants of the native stock of Shropshire and Stafford, though such descendants owed much to the blood of both Lei- cester and Southdown. The practical appreciation of the value of carefully bred stock that prompted the formation of so many breeds has never flagged. The limited size of the country and the large population, in spite of importation of food ma- terials, have ensured remunerative prices for animals and their products and the general practice of selling animals rather than crops has sustained the yields from the soil. Practically all animals in every part of the island show a preponderance of ancestry of some of the breeds, and British agriculture is based no less upon the superiority of the farm animals than upon the spirit that would retain or use only the best that could be procured or produced. CHAPTER II. AMERICAN STOCK BREEDING. In America the development of our animal husbandry has afforded a marked contrast to the course of events in other lands. Colonists from vari- European Stocks ous European countries brought in America. with them such stock as was most common to the section from which they emigrated. This gave us horses of Spanish and French blood, cattle and swine of Holland, Germany and contiguous territory. Also there came from Spain the progenitors of much of our stock of fine-wooled sheep. Some of the prominence of British breeds of stock must be attributed to the large number of British colonists, but for the chief part their strength of numbers and popular- ity has been earned on the basis of utility and adaptability to the requirements of the various agricultural parts of the country. As early as 1750, Virginia gentlemen brought from England running horses for racing and breeding. There being no place to which they could The American go for pronounced speed at the trot, Trotter. the American breeders early began the study and sifting of their horses of mixed blood with a view of perpetuating and intensify- ing the sources of excellence in trotting speed. Though (22) AMERICAN STOCK BREEDING 2S the Thoroughbred was a prominent factor at the inception of the work and for some time afterward, the accomplish- ments are entirely accredited to American skill and enter- prise. é It was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that the Percheron horse of France made its entrance into America,’ Phe history of Shires Draft Horses dates from about the same time, from Europe. while the Clydesdales invaded the field somewhat later. Our acquain- tance with the Belgian is comparatively recent. In the eighties the present type of the English Hack- ney obtained a foothold in America and was followed some years later by the French Coach and German Coach breeds. Numer- Horses. ous horses of carriage type and characteristics have occurred among the trotting stock and the United States Government now maintains a stud for the purpose of so combining the blood of such horses as to perpetuate their carriage quali- fications. The Government also supports an attempt to preserve the type of horses descended from the famous Morgan horse of Vermont. In cattle we had numerous valuable shipments of Short-horns prior to 1820, and influential activities in importing Short-horns into Ohio Cattle began in 1833. The seventies saw TImportations. the attention of British breeders centered upon America and some considerable exportations of Short-horn blood were made to England from America. Importations from abroad, 24 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS though varying in extent with conditions, have been con- tinuous and are still quite common. From 1875 to 1885 saw the rapid and hard-earned rise and spread of the Herefords and Angus, with the Galloway also making fast friends in sections to which its peculiar virtues com- mended it. In Herefords we have progressed to the point where we no longer feel the need of recourse to the for- eign herds for aid in improvement, though importations of the other breeds mentioned are still common. Our dairy breeds we have also brought from abroad and it is to the credit of America that her citizens have not been loath to profit by the results of the laborious efforts towards stock improvement in other lands. The breeds imported represent such combinations of characters of adaptability and special usefulness as to allow each part of the country and each class of production to have a breed at least fairly well suited to the peculiarities of the locality or demand. It cannot be said that the breeds have been distributed, or are even now found, in such surroundings as their founders aimed to serve, but their career is yet so short that natural or reasonable distribution cannot now be ex- pected. Selection and differences in ideals have produced types within breeds with many of the special features common to stock bearing another breed name. We have also established polled varieties of all but one of our im- ported horned breeds. Spanish fine-wooled sheep were brought to America before the close of the eighteenth century and from their descendants we have produced an almost confusing num- ber of so-called breeds or strains. These classes of Mer- AMERICAN STOCK BREEDING 25 inos exhibit as high efficiency in the art of breeding as is evidenced in the productions of Advent of any other part of the world. Since Breeds of Sheep. 1840 considerable numbers of the Rambouillet sheep of France have been brought in. The English Leicester was known in America before the Revolutionary War, and several lots of the two other long-wooled breeds arrived subsequent to 1830. By the latter date the Southdown had also earned considerable popularity and the period between 1860 and 1890 saw the establishment and wide distribution of the other down breeds, all of English origin. Europe furnished America with no breeds of swine bred to the purpose of turning corn into lard, and we have, therefore, three leading Amer- American Breeds ican breeds distinguished only by of Swine. such incidental characters as color and by differences in utility, due to variations in length of standing and the standards of the breeders. These breeds have been descended from imported European stocks which could hardly be said to have been highly improved except in the instance of the Berkshire. In 1835 the Berkshire was established in the section that was to be the birthplace of the Poland-China. This English breed is still imported in small numbers, but the Berk- shire of the cornbelt is more useful to that section than is the stocks as bred in England. For what we need of York- shires and Tamworths we draw upon England still. It was in 1872 that the National Swine Breeders’ Conven- 26 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS tion adopted the name Poland-China for the hogs that originated in southwestern Ohio and were meeting with much favor. It was several years later that the Chester White was deemed a breed and the Duroc-Jersey received its name from its assembled breeders in 1883. Other breeds of American origin have been produced and re- tained in restricted areas. When it is considered that most breeds of live stock have had their residence in America for less than half a century it is no cause for surprise to learn that a large proportion of farm animals bear no evidence of relation- ship to any breed. Only in the older sections has agri- culture taken on anything like a permanent: aspect. In such localities depleted soils have emphasized the need of live stock. In a smaller country the dependence of such areas on stock farming would long ago have forced out of existence all but such animals as could show them- selves possessed of practical superiorities over all less carefully bred stock. The influx of cheaply raised west- ern stock to supply the population Flindrances to of the East has seriously disturbed Stock Raising. the natural progress of agricultural affairs in the more densely peopled states. The western landowners and operators have had an exclusive interest in stock raising and have been in direct touch with the industry, both in the country and at market centers. It is therefore found that in our newer states in which crop-raising has not become general we have a higher average of domestic animals than in places where conditions demanded the best grades of stock but in which that stock could not be produced in competition AMERICAN STOCK BREEDING 27 with the operators of the new, cheap lands of western states. The advance of each of the breeds toward a higher place in the estimation of the agricultural public has been a steady one but much slower than it should have been. American breeders of note have not been wanting nor has there been an absence of raisers of superior market stock to set an example for their neighbors struggling with inferior work and feeding stock and declining crop yields. The non-agricultural character of a large pro- portion of the settlers of our lands and their refusal to recognize the need of conserving the fertility of the virgin soils has checked the general adoption of a studied system of stock-farming such as obtains in older, prosperous countries. The existence of other hindering factors such as unsteady values and transportation difficulties must also be recognized. The native animal exists as a product of proved ex- cellence for withstanding natural conditions. When there is a demand for animals that can utilize and respond to artificial care and feeding and give returns proportionate thereto, the animals produced by artificial selection are appreciated. The improved stock enlarges its domains and adds to the ranks of its devotees not so much through the force of the arguments of its supporters as through the victories won wherever a really good animal is fairly pitted against a native with no inherent possibilities of making response to studied care and feeding. With the great early appreciation of the imported breeds there was a demand larger than could be fully supplied with such creditable representatives as would be 28 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS qualified to worst the native. Possession of certificates of registry was too often looked upon as a guarantee of the desired excellence. Many descendants of registered par- ents had in themselves none of the practical qualifications that the times demanded. The too frequent sales of such stock and the extent to which it was retained for breeding hindered the proper regard of the more meritorious ani- mals and thus, in a measure, those who claimed to be friends of advancement really exerted an influence in the other way. Toaconsiderable extent present-day progress is retarded by the indiscriminate propagation of registered animals, not so much through the injury resulting from their dissemination as by misrepresentation to persons not familiar with the breeds and with what really improved stock actually stands for and can accomplish. An officer of the Bureau of Animal Industry* esti- mates that of all horses in the United States 1.02 per cent are registered. For dairy cattle the Proportion of percentage is given as 1.07, beef Registered Stock. cattle 1.05, sheep 0.46 and swine 0.45. It would be of great interest if we could know what proportion of the farm animals of the British Islands are entered in books of record, be- cause there the conquest of the scrub was assured long ago and there is a minimum of animals that are the re- sult of no plan and exhibit no peculiar usefulness. ae Percentages of registration, however, are a crude euide to the status of animal husbandry. Registration figures show the number of animals that have been pro- duced for the express purpose of use as parents of other *Bureau of Animal Industry Report, 1905. AMERICAN STOCK BREEDING 29 animals which in turn may be designed either for pro- duction of still other breeds or for service or slaughter. Many animals of pronounced merit and of carefully se- lected lineage are never registered and may be superior to some whose lineage is a matter of official record. This applies especially to swine, for although the percentage mentioned is a small one it is well known that but few animals reaching our markets fail to show strong infu- sions of the blood of the improved types. Such statistics as are available in a few states show that the majority of the stallions that are siring colts are not of recorded stock. Though this class may include some useful sires it is well known that many, even of those with pedigrees, are not fitted for the service they are allowed to perform. Actual tests of numerous representative herds of dairy cows in two states show that a large proportion of cows kept are incapable of returning any profit to their owners. One-fourth of the cows kept 1n one case yield less than one-half the butter fat secured from the better one-fourth of the herd.* It is only necessary to scan the rank and file of offerings of any classes of stock at our market centers to realize that while every section may have some representatives of breeds resulting Need of from improvement, still much of Good Stock. the stock reared is nearer to the type of the native than to that which the market most highly appreciates. Even though the future should permit the cheap-selling grades to be produced at a profit, it is assured that there will be a more general ap- *Tllinois ®xperiment Station, Circular 106. Indiana Experiment Station. Bulletin 107. 30 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS preciation of the higher classes of stock, not only be- cause of their higher market value, but also on the basis of their more ready response to skillful care and feed- ing. To encourage horsemen to raise such animals as are most profitable, several states have enacted legislation to prohibit stallions of inferior charac- State ter standing for public service. It is Aid. not the owner of the stallion who is at fault in standing an unsound or low-bred horse so much as it is the fault of the mare owner who elects that the horse he rears shall inherit such in- feriority. The stigma placed upon the low-class horse which the state refuses to license is the most effective accomplishment of such laws. The United States Government allows entrance from cther countries, free of duty, of all registered animals in- tended for breeding purposes. The Government also does special service in some sections to Federal encourage the keeping of better Aid. classes -of farm animals and, in ad= dition to its endeavors to develop types of horses, 1t 1s working with the western sheep in- terests to produce a type of sheep with the qualifications most needed on the range. It sometimes appears that men have already accom- plished most of what can be done in breeding farm ani- mals. Considering the very wide adherence of the major- ity of stock farmers to unimproved types and the fact that the future will make it imperative that there be reared only such animals as are peculiarly fitted for special pur- AMERICAN STOCK BREEDING 31 poses, it becomes apparent that the distribution of the products of the breeders’ art has only begun. If every unregistered and inferior sire, retaining the grades that are known to be good breeders, could be eliminated from any one of our states, the supply of registered and su- perior ones would be entirely inadequate to meet the de- mands. The foundation of American animal husbandry has been well laid and the work of its perfection is making sure and steady progress, but the ex- Breeders’ tent of past accomplishments is but Opportunities. a fraction of what remains to be done. The average of excellence of stock reared for breeding purposes must be greatly raised. This is to be done largely by the elimination of the undesirable individuals, but the class of showyard merit is certain to be modified to meet the changes needed by the market and by the varying vicissitudes of rearing under different conditions. As conditions exist today very considerable numbers of American-bred animals are being shipped to other countries and it is impossible to make any reasonable forecast of the extent of such trade in the future. There is need of the services of every one who has. the quali- fications that enable a man to improve his animals, and every one with the capacity to serve in any branch of the industry is assured of remuneration fully commensurate with what he has to offer. CHAPTER II. HEREDITY. Unusually successful breeders are looked upon by per- sons not conversant with higher aspects of animal breed- ing as being possessed of some care- Secrets fully guarded secrets or rules of im Breeding. mating that give them unusual ad- vantages in their work. Anyone not familiar with the art of breeding cannot appreciate the necessity and efficacy of extended and studious observa- tion combined with careful experience. Obviously there is nothing about an animal’s individuality or breeding powers that may not be learned as readily by one person as by another, but the difference lies in the significance of the external indications to variously equipped men, and in their courage and willingness to act upon what they have learned to read in the animals scrutinized. Again it is apparent that by far the chief feature of breeding is in the selection of animals for mating. To formulate any rules or guides from the work and instruction of even the most successful breeders is a very confusing task. Many such men Indefinite Expres- have seriously discussed the teach- sions of Breeders. ings of their experience in regard to the relative influence upon the prog- eny of the male and female parents. In some instances (32) HEREDITY 33 we are recommended to select a certain type or class of females to mate with a specified type of male; in others emphasis is laid on ancestors of one sex almost to the exclusion of the other sex. Practically all emphasize the necessity of a good line of ancestry, though just what constitutes such and what weight it should be given in comparison with individual make-up is impossible of clear expression. A long, careful, practical apprenticeship to the opera- tions of our more capable breeders will bring a person of ordinary natural qualities for the work into an intimacy with the aims and guiding principles of the profession that will remove the seeming vagueness of the precepts of even the best followers of the art. At the same time such a person must still be conscious of a superficiality of his knowledge of the laws and forces with which he deals. It has been said that while the practices of the breeders show much of uniformity in their estimation and application of the principles involved, yet their precepts lack entirely the clearness and similarity of their ex- amples. At first sight this is somewhat discouraging to the student or beginner, and it is the aim of these pages to first look into some facts and conditions that obtain in all breeding and which may constitute a basis for later discussion of principles that govern in all breeding opera- tions. Both precept and example of all good breeders show a uniformity and fundamental reliance upon the principle commonly expressed in the phrase, “Like begets like.” Robert Bakewell could say no more to the eager solici- tors of his secret than “Breed the best to the best.” A 34 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS hundred years later the sage of Sittyton with as much frankness and definiteness as was Result of possible to put into words assured Experience. those who clamored to know the reason of the unusual fleshing of his Short-horns that “thick-fleshed cattle breed thick-fleshed cattle:- The most helpful discussion of Bakewell’s ideas that is now available is printed by Youatt* and is herewith quoted : “Having remarked that domestic animals in general produced others possessing qualities similar to their own, he conceived the idea that he had only to select the most valuable breeds, such as promised to return the greatest emolument to the breeder, and that he should then be able, by careful attention to progressive improvement, to produce a breed whence he could derive a maximum of advantage. “Under the influence of this excellent notion, he made excursions into different parts of England, in order to inspect the different breeds, and to select those that were best adapted to his purpose, and the most valuable of their kind, and his residence and his early habits disposed him to give the preference to the Long-horn cattle. “We have no account of the precise principles which euided him, nor of the motives that influenced him in the various selections which he made; but Mr. Marshall, who says that he ‘was repeatedly favored with opportunities of making observations on Mr. Bakewell’s practice, and with liberal communications from him on all rural sub- jects, gives us some clue. He tells us, however, that ‘it is not his intention to deal out Mr. Bakewell’s private opinions, or even to attempt a recital of his particular *Youatt, “Stock Raisers’ Manual,” pp. 190-2. HEREDITY 3 cn practice.’ Mr. Marshall was doubtless influenced by an honorable motive in withholding so much that would have been highly valuable; and we can only regret that he was so situated as to have this motive pressing on his mind. “He speaks of the general principles of breeding, and when he does this in connection with the name of Bake- well, we shall not be very wrong in concluding that these were the principles by which that great agriculturist was influenced. “*The most general principle, he says (we are re- ferring to his ‘Economy of the Midland Counties,’ vol. I, p. 297), “is beauty of form. It is observable, however, that this principle was more closely Bakewell’s attended to at the outset of improve- Principles. ment (under an idea in some degree falsely grounded, that the beauty of form and utility are inseparable) than at present, when men who have long been conversant in practice make a distinction between a ‘useful sort’ and a sort which is merely ‘handsome.’ “The next principle attended to is a proportion of parts, or what may be called utility of form in distinction from beauty of form; thus the parts which are deemed offal, or which bear an inferior price at market, should be small in proportion to the better parts. “A third principle of improvement is the texture of the muscular parts, or what is termed flesh, a quality of live stock which, familiar as it may long have been to the butcher and the consumer, had not been sufficiently attended to by breeders, whatever it might have been to eraziers. This principle involved the fact that the grain of meat depended wholly on the breed, and not, as has been before considered, on the size of the animal. But the principle which engrossed the greatest share of atten- tion, and which above all others is entitled to the graziers’ attention, is fattening quality, or a natural propensity to 36 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS acquire a state of fatness at an early age, and when in full keep, in a short space of time, a quality which is clearly found to be hereditary. “Therefore, in Bakewell’s opinion, everything depend- ed on breed, and the beauty and utility of the form, the quality of the flesh and the propensity to fatten were, in the offspring, the natural consequence of similar qualities in the parents. His whole attention was centered on these four points; and he never forgot that they were compatible with each other, and might be occasionally found in the same individual. “Improvement had hitherto been attempted to be pro- duced by selecting females from the native stock of the country, and crossing them with males of an alien breed. Mr. Bakewell’s good sense led him to imagine that the object might be better accomplished by uniting the su- perior branches of the same breed, than by any mixture of foreign ones. “On this new and judicious principle he started. He purchased two Long-horn heifers from Mr. Webster, and he procured a promising Long-horn bull from Mr. West- moreland. To these and their progeny he confined him- self, coupling them as he thought he could best increase or establish some excellent point, or speedily and effectu- ally remove a faulty one. “Many years did not pass before his stock was un- rivalled for the roundness of its form, the smallness of its bone and its aptitude to acquire external fat; while they were small consumers of food in proportion to their size; but at the same time, their qualities as milkers were very considerably lessened.” Youatt refers to one of Bakewell’s bulls to which a few cows were brought at 5 guineas each. He also quotes Marshall regarding Bakewell in the words: “He likewise gives a curious account of Mr. Bake- well’s hall. ‘The separate joints and points of each of HEREDITY 57. the more celebrated of his cattle were preserved in pickle, or hung up side by side, showing the thickness of the flesh and external fat on each, and the smallness of the offal. There were also skeletons of the different breeds, that they might be compared with each other, and the comparative difference marked.’ ” The following is also taken from Youatt: “The practice of letting bulls originated in this dis- trict, and chiefly with Mr. Bakewell, and was generally adopted. The bulls were sent out in April, or the be- ginning of May, and were returned in August. The prices varied from 10 to 50 or 60 pounds; but in one case, i a ?a Dull was lefat. co cumeas a season. Hurther evidence of the estimation in which the Bakewell stock was held is shown in his letting three rams in 1787 for 1,200 guineas.” It is commonly written that Bakewell was very reti- cent by nature and guarded very closely the “secrets of his operations.” It seems more just to consider that to the inquirers of his time the process of selection seemed inadequate, and they found it easier to suppose that there was some carefully guarded factor the possession of which would make them equally successful. In dealing with the relation of offspring and parents We are in touch with the force commonly spoken of as heredity. Manifestly, the desidera- Breeder's tum of the breeding profession is Desideratum. the highest possible measure of con- trol over the force of heredity. The past decade has been marked by unusual progress toward a more comprehensive understanding of the various as- pects of heredity. Discoveries have opened new avenues 38 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS of investigation; previously puzzling phenomena have been rendered possible of explanation, and there exists a somewhat confident air that in the not remote future the breeding of animals will be placed on a plane of greater definiteness and less uncertainty than it now occupies. To study heredity and its newer and scientific aspects as ap- plied to the former and present conceptions of breeding is the object of the succeeding chapters. The term heredity is most commonly defined as the tendency of the offspring to resemble the parent form. The same thought has been expressed in “Like begets like” - We are reminded on every hand in both plant and animal life that like begets like in a general way so far as species or variety 1s con- cerned, and in the main also individuality of offspring is close to that of parent. In an exact sense, however, no animal is a counterpart of either parent. Total merit or separate points as often vary away from as toward what we desire. The making of our breeds has consisted no less in the elimination of the undesirable than in the per- petuation and combination of the better features of such animals as have been regarded as approaching more nearly to the ideal of usefulness and value for the pur- pose for which bred. Manifestly heredity and its study is as much concerned with a consideration of the minor departures from resemblance of offspring to parental type as with the likenesses. The idea of heredity finds expression in our common words “heritage” and “inheritance,” as implying the transfer of title or possession from one generation to an- Heredity. HEREDITY 39 other. The proper study of heredity in animals, how- ever, must not fail to recognize that the young animal’s heritage is complete at its birth; no subsequent depend- ence or connection with either parent for nourishment or protection can be considered as in any sense a heredi- tary relation; in fact, it will later be shown that heredi- tary impress was fully conveyed at a much earlier period, namely, at conception. The confusion resulting from the attempt to apply the truth of “Like begets like” in exact or minute sense arises from the necessity of considering Heredity Has a every animal in relation to two par- Physical. Basis. ents. The physiology of the repro- ductive processes having to do with the making of a new animal are well understood and sufficiently easy of explanation to repay careful study by one who would familiarize himself with the fundamentals of the breeder’s work. The relation of each of the parents to their progeny and the real ultimate origin is made clear by an understanding of the arrangement and functions of the reproductive organs, more particularly in the female. CHAPTER IV. FACTS CONCERNING REPRODUCTION. The formation of the new animal begins with the union of the material from the male parent with a contri- bution from the female. Under normal conditions this union takes place within the body of the female shortly after copulation. A general knowledge of the location and construction of the female organs is necessary to a useful understanding of the conditions and processes that have to do with the origin of new individuals. The vulva is the external opening of the female reproductive organs. The vagina is the passage lying immediately inside the vulva and in an ordinary mare 1s Female Reproduc- from 8 to 12 inches in length. Three tive Organs. or 4 inches from the exterior open- ing of the vulva is the opening from the bladder. The os (os uteri) or neck of the womb pro- jects into the forward end of the vagina. Its length is about 2% to 3 inches and owing to the nature of its walls is ordinarily practically closed except at times of breed- ing or parturition. The womb or uterus is the part that contains the developing embryo. Its rear end opens into the vagina and its forward part is below and to the rear of the kidneys. In unbred mares the main body of the uterus has a length of from 5 to 8 inches. The ovaries produce the eggs or the female repro- (40) 41 FACTS CONCERNING REPRODUCTION FIG. 1.—THE GENERATIVE ORGANS OF THE MARDB.—1. Left ovary. 2. Fallopian tube. 3. Left horn of uterus. 4. Right horn of uterus. 5. Body of uterus—5’ os, or neck of uterus. 6. Broad ligament. 7. Vagina. 8. Abdominal wall. 9. Left kidney. 10. Left ureter. 11. Urinary Bladder.—(From Leisering’s ‘‘Atlas of the Anatomy of Domesticated Animals.’’) 42 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS ductive bodies, and are two in number, one being situated on the right side and one on the left. The ovary of a young mare is reniform in shape, having its greatest dimension of 3% to 4 inches and weighing about 4 ounces. The ovary of the cow is much smaller. It is the function of the ovaries to produce the eggs or ova (singular, ovum) from which the new animal develops after a union with another cell from the male parent. The time at which the ovum is ready to meet this body from the male is marked by evidence of being “in heat.’ The Fallopian tubes connect the ovaries with the womb and through them the ova are conveyed to the latter. In the male the testicles are analagous to the ovaries of the female. The structure of the parts provided for the introduction of the product of the Male Reproduc- testicles into the passage of the fe- tive Organs. male is of slight importance in study- ing heredity and these organs sel- dom require attention. The testicles produce very large numbers of bodies, the spermatozoa (spermatozoon, sin- gular). These when discharged from the body during the act of service are contained in a white fluid, alkaline in character, the whole constituting the semen or seminal fluid. After the act of service a considerable amount of the seminal fluid can usually be found upon the floor of the vagina, though the testimony of Essentials of — some of those who have successfully Conception. practiced artificial impregnation of mares is that at least a part of the fluid is present in the uterus soon after copulation. The FACTS CONCERNING REPRODUCTION 43 spermatozoa, which are capable of some motion, work forward through the uterus into the Fallopian tubes. Here they surround the ovum to the interior of which a single spermatozoon penetrates. This union of the male and female reproductive bodies constitutes fertilization. The united ovum and spermatozoon gravi- tate to the womb, where, if conditions are favorable, growth and development ensue and conception has been accomplished. It is positively known that a new animal is the result of the union of one ovum and one spermato- zoon. The reason for the preparation of such a great number of the male bodies, of which only one 1s essential to reproduction, lies partly in the likelihood of a large proportion of them failing to reach the ovum, or though arrived there having lost their vitality. Any condition that prevents the union of a healthy ovum with a healthy spermatozoon under normal conditions, renders impossi- ble the production of a new animal. Any such obstruc- tion present in the female is known as barrenness. Ina- bility on the part of the male to supply healthy sperma- tozoa is spoken of as sterility. Barrenness may result from a diseased condition of the ovaries. Mares and cows that are continuously in heat and fail to conceive are com- monly so affected. In such cases no normal ova are produced and treat- ment is usually unsatisfactory. Ex- cessive fattening during the growing period may derange the ovaries, especially if the elements that support growth are scantily furnished or if exercise and outdoor life are restricted. The os may be so tightly closed as to prevent Barrenness. A BREEDING FARM ANIMALS the entrance of the spermatozoa. This is common in mares that are quite old when first bred and in heifers kept in very high condition. In artificial impregnation some of the seminal fluid is taken from the floor of the vagina and placed within the womb of the same or an- other female, thus overcoming any trouble arising from the condition of the os. In difficult parturitions the os is sometimes lacerated and heals with an enlargement that closes the passage. Acidity of the secretions of the womb also causes barrenness. Reproductive cells, both male and female, require an alkaline medium. If through any dis- eased condition the fluids of the womb become acid, the spermatozoa perish before reaching the ovum or else the fertilized ovum is destroyed. It is for the remedy of such conditions that the yeast treatment is so commonly recommended tor uncertain breeders, but it 1s notsmure formly successful. Absence of procreative power in the male must be due either to failure to produce normal spermatozoa or failure to convey them to the organs of the female. The first named is the most common cause of sterility. The preparation of reproductive bodies is a deep-seated process and draws heavily on the vitality of the animal. It is essential that a breeding animal be maintained in the best of physical condition by judicious and liberal feeding, reasonable exercise and intelligent management. A few causes wnderlie nearly all manifes- tations of sterility. In stallions and in aged bulls tem- porary sterility sometimes follows a slight and often a radical change of location. It is more often caused by an Sterility. FACTS CONCERNING. REPRODUCTION 45 excessive proportion of feeds of a fattening character and by a minimum of work or exercise. Number of Excessive service may so decrease Services. the number or vitality of the sperma- tozoa as to produce sterility. In no event can a second service overcome obstacles to concep- tion in either parent. One satisfactory service furnishes a superabundance of spermatozoa ; other services can only exhaust the vitality of the male. If wrong conditions are indicated or suspected a remedy should be used before mating is allowed. It is thought that the breeding of sows late in the period of heat renders more certain the presence of active spermatozoa at the time the last ova leave the ovaries, thus ensuring fertilization of all ova produced. Inasmuch as the number of spermatozoa is so great it is evident that the number of young to a litter must be controlled by the female unless the male be so seriously overtaxed as to lower the number or vitality of Size of spermatozoa, or unless mating oc- Litter. curs at a time too far removed from the time of production of the ova, so that either or both perish before fertilization 1s accom- plished. The number of rudimentary eggs or ova pres- ent in the ovary is much greater than the number that can possibly be discharged in a lifetime. Any condition which would augment the production of ova in sheep or swine would of course add to the number of young produced at a birth. A normal, well nourished dam might be ex- expected to mature more ova at one time, but no direct influence can be brought to bear upon this function. The 46 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS ege cell or ovum is expelled from the follicle of the ovary in which it was prepared at the time of the evidence of “heat” and ordinarily before copulation occurs. It is not known just how long an ovum retains its life after be- ing discharged, but it 1s probably a considerable time. With the female organs in an entirely normal state it is believed that the spermatozoa may remain active for sev- eral days after their introduction. In one case, with a rabbit, spermatozoa are known to have functioned ten days after copulation.* The statement was made in the preceding chapter that the new animal develops from two single germ cells, an egg or ovum from the dam and a Influence of sperm cell or spermatozoon from the Sireand Dam. _ sire. It is natural to entertain the thought that the dam, during the months of gestation in which she carries and nourishes the developing offspring, has opportunity to give to it a stronger impress than was received from the sire. Un- doubtedly much depends upon the nourishment afforded the foetus by the dam and this important feature is re- served for later discussion. The actual connection be- tween the membranes enveloping the foetus and the inner surface of the womb allow absorption from the maternal into the foetal circulation of material for the support of erowth, but there can be no blood current from one to another. Furthermore, we know that while blood carries building material to the various parts of the body the ability to shape the material rests, not in the blood, but in the contents of the cells that make up the part. *“Transactions Royal Society,” Series B, No. 196. FACTS CONCERNING REPRODUCTION 47 Observation clearly corroborates the idea that the dam has no opportunity to dominate the make-up of the off- spring more than is enjoyed by the sire; indeed the claim seems well founded at times that the sire’s influence ex- ceeds that of the dam. It is clear that aside from feeding the embryo animal the entire determination of what that embryo is to become resides within the two cells with the union of which the new life was inaugurated, and the one from the sire contains active material equal in amount and determining power to that in the dam’s contribution to the embryo offspring. Any particular points or conformation or fitness for special agricultural requirements that are to characterize any descendant of a long line of carefully selected ancestry must have its representation in one of these two sexual cells. Clearly then, it is of first 1m- portance that we fully understand the nature and _ be- havior of these germ cells and their relation to the parent body. CHAPTER V. THE GERM CELLS, The spermatozoa were first observed in the product of the male organs in 1677, though their function was not then known. In 1827 the ovum was found and under- stood to be the seat of new life, though it was not until 1843 that the necessity of the union of ovum and sper- matozoa was made clear and not until thirty years later that: the significance of stich union was ~tealized: Though of unusual shape and make up, each 7os these reproductive bodies consists of but a single cell. A cell is a unit of structure in all plant or animal tissue as is a brick the unit in a wall. Growth consists of an increase in the number of cells, made possible by the ma- terial carried to the growing part by the blood. New cells produced by growth always re-_ Cell semble those existing in the part be- Growth. cause they derive their principal and controlling part from the volder ones. This controlling part or seat of the greatest activ- ity is the nucleus which is shown at A in the ovum in Fig. 2b. Here the nucleus is small in proportion to the whole cell because of the extraordinary amount of out- side material in the egg cell. The contents of the nucleus in a germ cell are believed to be the chief if not the sole vehicle of heredity between the offspring and the parent (48) THE GERM CELLS 49 body within which the germ cell is produced. That the contents of these nucleii of all cells have some unusual qualities is evident from their behavior. It is the prac- tice of the biologist to add clearness to the distinction of parts of material under examination by staining that material with chemical preparations. It invariably hap- pens that when living tissue is so stained the contents of the nucleus take on a deeper and more striking color than Nucleus End-tnab Middle-piece Envelope of tail Axta/-filament £ad-plece Acrosome FIG 2A.—DIAGRAM OF FLAGELLATE SPERMATOZOON. = oa — Le ZA RT ONT: =e eee, 4 KGET at ee Lig : “ee Y GIDE 2. “lig ca G07; op Li BY y 0, 7 Be om | Yolys am (yf Via BY ys 5 Us Ge ovum eo 00 8 a5, Oo 2382590 29 0508: oe Zig ree ee ate SESE es a by. ae SoBe $s s S sess sss FIG. 2B.—AN OVUM CONTAINED IN THE GRAAFIAN FOLLICLE OF THE OVARY BEFORE BEING DISCHARGED. THE OVUM HAS A DIAMETER OF 1-127TH OF AN INCH. A, NUCLEUS OF OVUM. do other parts of the cell, evidencing a peculiarity of composition. For this reason the substance within the nucleus is called chromatin. Other grounds for attaching unusual significance to the chromatin are found in the intricate processes provided for in its division every time one cell becomes two cells. While the chromatin is 50 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS dividing with striking exactness the outer part of a par- ent cell gives a half of itself to each The new nucleus, but this halving evi- Chromatin. dences little or none of the design and exactness observed in the chro- matin division. These facts apply with equal force to all body cells and to germ cells in their preparatory stages. The detail of the processes by which one cell becomes two cells is shown in Fig. 3. The unusual pro- visions for an equal and careful division of the contents of the nucleus, while the remainder of the cell divides with so little apparent system, lends color to the idea that the nuclear substance is of greatest importance to the resulting cells. After division the chromatin again resolves itself into a granular condition and it is believed that substances pass out through the nuclear wall and control the entire cell and thus the direction: of the development of the entire organism resides in the chromatin of its cells. It is sometimes claimed that the cytoplasm, the cell ma- terial outside the nucleus, exerts a controlling influence, but evidences of such may be due to presence of the chromatin that has migrated from the nucleus into the cytoplasm. In any body we may trace this chromatin material through successive divisions back to the orig- inal ovum and spermatozoon that originated the new being. This chromatin or hereditary material is present in all growing cells in the form of elongated and crudely cylindrical bodies spoken of as chromosomes. The num- ber of chromosomes in the nucleii of the cells is the same throughout the body and never varies in the same THE GERM CELLS op! cell wall chromatin nucleus thread chromatin centrosome cytoplasm chromosomes FIG. 3.—PROCESSES OF CELL DIVISION. 1. Cell in resting stage. 2. The chromatin is formed into a skein and held upon numerous strands between two centrosomes. 38. The chromatin has broken up into four chremosomes. This drawing is from an organism that normally has but four chromosomes, 4. Each chromosome has split into two, and the parts are going toward the cen- trosomes. Note the indentation of the cell wall. Two new cells, each with a nucleus in which the chromatin is in the granular resting stage. (Drawn by H. W. Vaughan.) on 52 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS species or class of animal. In our common animals the most accurate count possible shows the chromatin in each cell to be made up of sixteen chromosomes. “The remarkable fact has now been established with high probability that every species of plant or animal has a fixed and characteristic num- The ber of chromosomes, which regu- Chromosomes. larly recurs in the division of all its cells, and in all forms arising by sexual reproduction the number is even. Thus, in some of the sharks the number is thirty-six; in certain gastero- pods it is thirty-two; in the mouse, the salamander, the trout, the lily, twenty-four ; in the worm sagitta, eighteen; in the ox, guinea pig and in man the number is said to be sixteen: = It was said that the primitive or rudimentary germ celis multiply just as do cells in other parts, namely by each chromosome being split and donating half of its substance to the nucleus of the new cell. If the new animal produced by the union of a germ cell from either parent is to possess the number of chromosomes normal to a cell characteristic of its class some reduction of the number sixteen in the primitive bodies must be effected, otherwise there would be a doubling up and hopeless con- fusion. The German zoologist, Weismann, in 1887, several years prior to the actual discovery, predicted that it would be found that the first form of the germ cells experienced some such reduction in the number of their chromosomes before reaching their mature form. This process (maturation) of reducing the number zWATISON se ew @ ell. thm oie THE GERM CELLS 53 of chromosomes in preparing a mature germ cell was first observed and understood about Preparation of the the year 1889. Since that time it Germ Cells. has been seen to occur in sections from the ovaries and testicles of most of the larger animals and the process is a common subject of study in zoological laboratories. The special reducing process known in the female as oogenesis, and as spermatogenesis in the male, is apparently solely for taking from each germ cell one-half its chromosomes. No such thing occurs except with cells that are to be used «in reproduction. In the male this-precess: 1s continuous, and perfected spermatozoa are stored in con- siderable numbers. Maturation or reduction of the chro- mosomes of the female ege takes place quite rapidly and just prior to union with a spermatozoon. In some in- stances it is known to have occurred after the sperma- tozoon has passed through the wall of the ovum. Fig. 4 furnishes a parallel diagram illustrating the formation of spermatozoa and ova. This process of reduction is a basis for explaining many perplexing occurrences in breeding and is worthy of careful examination. Pio. 5 shows the stages im -the- reduction of the chromosomes of an egg cell; only six of the chro- mosomes are shown. In farm animals each germ cell so reproduced would have eight chromosomes. The larger one with which the mass of food is retained is the mature egg or ovum; the other three perish. The processes of reduction of the number of chromosomes follow each other without intervals and are to all ap- pearances solely designed to prevent the doubling of the FARM ANIMALS BREEDING 54 ‘Auvdmog W wuoj,olddy ‘q Jo uorsstutted Aq ,,‘WOTJNTOAM JO S9JON 4OOT,, S,URpsoF uwWO0AT psnpoidsy— VAO GONV VOZOLVNUAdS AO NOILVNYOA AO NOILVULSOATTIL TATIVAVd— Ft “DIA (‘uaAOg Ja}}V) “S80 94} Jo quowdojoaop oy} Surjerjsnqiy urerserq ‘poised uoneinjzeyy Se eS *poriad woremnjzeyy Deweswews = oe *porsd y MOI | *potiad yIMoI4y (‘1eje013 yonur ST SUOISTATP jo idaquinu sy 7) *porsed uorjeorydiy[nyy (‘rayeoI8 YyOnuI St SUOISTAIp ae jo iaquinu a2 7) *powed uorjzeordypnyy (‘aAOg 193;V) eo —see ty ot | ‘uoozozeurtads 34} jo quowdoyaaap oy} Surjzeaysny[I weiserq number of chromosomes in the embryo which would fol- low if reduction did not take place. The later union of spermatozoon and ovum, each with one-half as many chromosomes as are normal to the species, restores the THE GERM CELLS 55 5 6 FIG. 5.—REDUCTION OF THE CHROMOSOMES OF AN EGG CELL.—1, early germ cell, oogonium, with whole number of chromosomes—paternal, black dots; maternal, clear rings; 2, division of oogonial cell; 3, first polar spindle; 4, first polar body; 5, second polar spindle and division of second polar body; 6, egg after extension of polar bodies.—Reproduced from ‘‘Morgan’s Experi- mental Zoology,’’ by permission of The MacMillan Co. 56 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS correct number in the fertilized egg from which the off- spring develops. On the mother’s side, then, the new animal is limited to receiving such qualities as were represented in the eight chromosomes that chanced to Significance of the remain in the ovum. The sixteen Chromosome. originally present in the immature egg were derived in equal numbers from each grandparent. The process of preparing the male germ cells is altogether analogous to that ob- served in the female. There is no considerable accumu- lation of food within the male cell and the four bodies produced in the male organs are similar to each other in appearance and possibilities. The spermatozoa, by virtue of the wriggling motion produced by their tail-like appendages shown in Fig. 2a. find their way to meet the ovum ordinarily within the tube connect- ing the ovary and womb. It is not known how long atime is occupied by the spermatozoa in reaching the ovum. The difficulty in procuring actual data is obvious. In one case in a rab- bit, the ovum and spermatozoa were found united two and three-quarter hours after copulation. Though many spermatozoa attach themselves to the exterior of the ovum but one enters. Thus it is a matter of chance which eight of the chromosomes of the sire will meet the contribu- tion of the dam. Considering the existence of the heredi- tary material in sixteen unit bodies and allowing for the Fertilization.* *The production and union of the germ cells is admirably treated in “Physiology of Reproduction” by IF. H. A. Marshall. THE GERM CELLS wi SY FIG. 6.—THE FERTILIZATION OF THE EGG.—A, egg surrounded by spermato- zoa; on the right, one has just penetrated the egg membranes and is enter- ing the egg cytoplasm; egg nucleus in the center. B, egg nucleus with chromatin reticulum on left; on right, the sperm nucleus preceded by its centrosome and attraction sphere. C, egg nucleus on the left, sperm nucleus on the right of the center of the egg; stage immediately preceding the divi- sion of the centrosome. D, the centrosome has divided, the two attraction spheres separate to form the first cleavage spindle; the chromosomes of the egg and sperm nuclei clearly visible and indistinguishable (in the figure the egg chromosomes are black, the sperm chromosomes shaded). E, the first cleavage spindle, with splitting of chromosomes. F, completion of first cleav- age; two-celled stage, each nucleus contains four chromosomes—two from the egg and two from the sperm. (After Boveri.) Reproduced from Jordan’s *“Foot-Notes to Evolution,’’ by permission of D. Appleton & Company. 58 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS variable tendencies contained in the individual chromo- somes there need be no occasion for surprise when suc- cessive matings of the same parents fail to produce identi- cal progeny. The spermatozoon having entered the ovum, their chromosomes coalesce and the seed or embryo of the new animal is complete. With favorable conditions growth and development ensue. The repeated divisions carry the leaven of the chromosemes to all parts of the body to form the most minute portions of the new indi- vidual. The development of the embryo is quite analo- gous to the production of a new plant from food secured from the natural sources and built up in the seed. All of the non-nuclear material present in the ferti- lized egg is brought there by the ovum, but this material is not considered to convey influences of importance in the subsequent development. As stock breeders, and therefore interested in the problem of heredity, we are not primarily concerned with the embryonic stages succeeding the union of the ovum and spermatozoon. Viewed in any way the pro- duction of a perfect foetus from the enlargements and divisions of two single special cells 1s a most marvelous process. Though marvelous it is no less comprehensible than is the development of a mature fruit-bearing plant from a single seed. The chromatin or the virtual seed material sends off its various component parts, and rep- resentation in the successive stages of change and the chromatin in any cell of the completed form is traceable directly back to the reproductive cells. The further study of this tangible vehicle of heredity is therefore of funda- mental interest. CHAPTER VI. THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL. Although stock breeders have received many inter- esting suggestions and directions from scientists during the last few years the facts of hered- Scientists and ity are far from being an open book Breeders. even to the scientists. It may be stated here that the most suggestive expressions the scientists have given to the breeders re- late to the creation of new forms and the production and fixation in our domestic animals of characters not now common. In these pages the endeavor is chiefly to pre- sent such matter as may permit a more complete under- standing of the physical basis of breeding, and the object is not so much the discussion of means of adding new types and characters as it is to stimulate a study that shall result in greater uniformity of excellence among the existing stock and a closer resemblance of the major- ity to the present best. In arriving at the fertilization of the ovum by the spermatozoon, or the planting of the seed of the new animal, we have adhered to incontro- vertible facts. Though entirely probable it has not been fully demonstrated that the chromatin is the exclusive seat of heredity. ven if it is not it is the active part of the cells which do carry all of heredity, and its changes are highly significant. (59) 60 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS So far as concerns any intimate knowledge of the make-up of the chromosomes or the distribution among them of the control of various por- Inheritance tions of the body we are entirely through in the dark. We may at best recog- Chromosomes. nize the combined chromosomes as carrying all that is transmitted and any practical consideration thereof must regard the chro- mosomes simply as portions of the hereditary material. Whether one chromosome could by itself if necessary di- rect the development of an entire animal or whether the germs of different parts or organs are carried in separate chromosomes can hardly be conjectured. Regarding the chromatin simply as the hereditary material, with the facts that have been stated we can account for the lack of similarity in the offspring of two parents. Farmers who undertake to raise a pair of matched horses by breeding a mare to the same stallion in two succes- Sive seasons are frequently at a loss to account for the ereat disappointment. Every cell in the body contains sixteen chromosomes, the direct product of the original group bequeathed equally by the two parents. In the preparation of the germ cells we know that one-half the chromatin bodies are eliminated. Considering at present, for the sake of clearness, a female of a species for Possible Chromo- which four is the regular number of some Combina- chromosomes, we know that in a tion in Ovum. germ cell of that female only two chromosomes will be present to con- vey hereditary influences. It. is impossible to know or THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL 61 foretell which two of the original four bodies will be preserved. If we consider the four chromosomes to bear numbers from one to four, then while one and two may be in the ovum produced at one period, another ovum produced may contain the same combination again, or, it may contain numbers three and four or any two of the number present in whichever one of the primitive egg cells is being developed into an ovum. Any one of the following combinations is equally as likely as any other to be present in the ovum produced at any certain period: Land 2: 2 and 3, Ie wave Si 2 and 4, i and) 4 3 and 4. That the dam of an amimal of a species of even four chromosomes should make exactly the same contribution to two successive offsprings is highly improbable, yet our larger animals have sixteen chromosomes to a cell. The same considerations obtain on the sire’s side. All divisions of the primitive spermatozoa remain functional, but only one is utilized in fertili- Possible Chromo- zation, therefore the probabilities some Combinations are the same as with the female. m Spermatozoa. Designating the chromosomes of the paternal cells as five, six, seven, and eight, a single spermatozoon has equal chances for carrying any one of the following: 5 and 6, 6 and 7, 5 and 7, 6 and 8, andes (ie: boXe Mats - When fertilization occurs we know that some one of 62 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS the equally probable maternal combinations will unite Equally Probable Results of Fertilization. ternal list. with some one of the “equally probable paternal combinations. Any one of the pairs in the ma- ternal list has equal probability of joining with any one of the pa- Maternal Paternal ieands 2. 5 and 6, tendo: 5) caver 7/7 ieands 4: 3) anal (2). Deanders Guanine. 2 and 4) 6 ands; 3 and 4, ieanider se The offspring will receive one of these equally prob- able sets of chromosomes: 1-2 and 5-6, 2-3 and 5-6, 1-2 and 5-7, 2-3 and 5-7, 1-2 and 5-S, 2-3 and 5-8, 1-2 and 6-7, 2-3 and 6-7, 1-2 and 6-8, 2-3 and 6-8, 1-2 and 7-8, 2-3 and 6-8, 1-3 and 5-6, 2-4 and 5-6, 1-3 and 5-7, 2-4 and 5-7, 1-3 and 5-8, 2-4 and 5-8, 1-3 and 6-7, 2-4 and 6-7, 1-3 and 6-8, 2-4 and 6-8, 1-3 and 7-8, 2-4 and 7-8, 1-4 and 5-6, 3-4 and 5-6, 1-4 and 5-7, 3-4 and 5-7, 1-4 and 5-8, 3-4 and 5-8, 1-4 and 6-7, 3-4 and 6-7, 1-4 and 6-8 3-4 and 6-8, 1-4 and 7-8, 3-4 and 7-8, It is apparent that from two parents of a species with four chromosomes it is possible to have thirty-six indi- viduals, no two of which would be identical. Of course, the majority would largely be of the same make-up, but in the two combinations written first and last there would be a very wide dissimilarity. The contrast of these two possibilities is the basis of the seeming impossible state- THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL 63 ment we sometimes hear, that two offspring of the same parents may be unrelated to each other. If we consider our larger animals that are believed to possess sixteen chromosomes we find amazing possibili- ties. Taking the possible number of combinations of eight chromosomes that can be made up from sixteen in either parent and exhausting the number of unions that may be produced from these two sets, it is found that without duplication we may have combinations to the number of 65,536. In view of the immense field of possibilities it is not surprising that we seldom find two animals that even seem to be identical or even nearly Why Related enough so to make a matched pair. Animals Differ. Some of the high-class animals pro- uced by supposedly indifferent parents are doubtless the outcome of the rare occurrence of a combination of the best of material of each parent and the elimination of that tending to produce inferiority. Also some of the very mediocre offspring of renowned parents may be attributed to an exceedingly unfortuitous retention of the chromatin productive of inferior charac- ters and the elimination of the desirable. It is undeni- able that in this vital process of heredity there is and must ever be a large element of chance. Chance may govern what portions of the material will go to each offspring, but if it were possible to assure ourselves that all of each parent’s supply was representative of good we might be careless of chance. However, it is not necessary or justifiable to assume that each chromosome is entirely different from all the others in the same or in another 64 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS parent. In all probability they are largely similar. But they may be arranged in an infinite variety of ways and this arrangement is beyond all control. Though impos- sible to bring any influence to bear upon the manner of separating the portion of hereditary material for the new animal, we can yet assure ourselves of a desirable outcome by limiting ourselves to such animals as give us reason to believe that any selection from their stock of hereditary substance would contain the minimum of possibilities for undesirable characters. To achieve the greatest possible measure of control over heredity is the aim and need of the breeder of ani- mals adapted to special uses. He- Basis of Control- redity is chiefly if not entirely con- ling Heredity. veyed by the chromosomes of the germ cells. The elimination of some of these chromosomes and the amazing array of combi- nations that may be effected have all to do with determin- ing the make-up of every creature. No degree of human influence over these processes is conceivable. How then has it been possible for the builders of breeds and types to mold the animal form so nearly to their liking? The answer is, by the selecting for mating of animals con- taining chromatin or hereditary material with the maxi- mum possibilities of desirable features and the minimum of those undesirable; this done, no matter what heredi- tary bodies are eliminated or combined the result is still for good, and any few chance representations of unwelcome qualities are hopelessly in the minority, CHAPTER VII. ORIGIN OF THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL. The phenomena discussed in the preceding pages give some conception of the fundamental nature of the forces to be dealt with. They suggest ex- The planations of occurrénces otherwise Problem. perplexing, but manifestly before we can undertake to formulate means to purify the hereditary material we must know something of its source. A consideration of the rela- tion of that substance -to the parent body is in order. The germ cells were traced from their rudimentary stages in the ovaries and testicles, but from whence did these organs derive this material of such extraordinary potency ? We have arrived at the end of our positive knowledge of hereditary ees No examination or experiment has as yet revealed all the facts re- Necessity and garding the immediate source of the Value of Theory. contents of the sexual cells. Our ~ embryologists explain development of the tissue layers and later of separate organs from the fertilized germ cell. But as to just what goes into the new reproductive organs there is no definite knowl- edge, though in the embryonic development of some low- er forms there is evidence that an early segregation from the total parental germ plasm isolates a portion for re- (65) 66 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS serve in the new reproductive organs while the main amount is dissipated in the building of the body. In view of the great desirability of understanding the origin of this vital substance, the best that scientists can do is to theorize. That theory which accords with the facts and which best accounts for the various manifestations of heredity is the one which will be of greatest service. Darwin believed that the reproductive organs acted in somewhat the same manner as do the secreting organs of the body, the material they se- Darwin's crete consisting of minute particles Theory. that enter the blood circulation from all the cells of the body and are withdrawn, in the ovaries of the female or testicles of the male, and built up into the ova or spermatozoa. Weismann considers that the hereditary material is not drawn from the body but that rather a small propor- tion of the same material received An Opposite from the parents is reserved intact View in the reproductive organs and there remains until the animal reaches breeding age and then be- comes active and produces the germ cells. These are the two main ideas on the subject. Actual examination or experiment to determine the facts seems impossible. We are therefore forced to base our prac- tice on that explanation which seems most satisfactorily to explain the occurrences. If Darwin’s suggestion be accepted we must chiefly emphasize the individuality of the parents rather than the ancestry, while the reverse is true 1f we think with Weismann. ORIGIN OF THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL 67 In view of the fundamental importance of an intel- ligent idea of the source of the hereditary substance it is desirable and fair to more ex- Pangenesis. plicitly present the views of the two scientists ‘referred to, Darwin’s theory is known as “‘Pangenesis” and in his “The Varia- tion of Plants and Animals under Domestication” he outlines his proposed explanation of the method of heredity in these words: “It is universally admitted that the cells or units of the body increase by self-division or proliferation, retain- ing the same nature, and that they ultimately become con- verted into various tissues and substances of the body. But besides this means of increase I assume that the units throw off minute granules which are dispersed through- out the whole system; that these, when supplied with proper nutriment, multiply by self-division and are ulti- mately developed into units like those from which they were originally derived. These granules may be called ‘gemmules’. They are collected from all parts of the sys- tem to constitute the sexual elements and their develop- ment in the next generation forms a new being; but they are likewise capable of transmission in a dormant state to future generations and may then be developed. Gem- mules are supposed to be thrown off by every unit, not only during the adult state, but during each stage of de- velopment of every organism; but not necessarily during the continued existence of the same unit. Lastly, I as- sume that the gemmules in their dormant state have a mutual affinity for each other, leading to their aggrega- tion into buds, or into the sexual elements. Hence, it is not the reproductive organs, or buds, which generate a new organism, but the units of which each individual is composed. These assumptions constitute the provisional hypothesis which I have called ‘Pangenesis.’”’ He later 68 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS states: “I am aware that my view is merely a provi- sional hypothesis or speculation; but, until a better one be advanced, it will serve to bring together a multitude of facts which are at present left disconnected by any emicient calise. ~ Weismann’s hypothesis is in the main the exact op- posite of that of Darwin. He designates the chromatin or hereditary material as “germ Continuity of plasm.” His idea of “Continuity of Germ Plasm. Germ Plasm”’ regards the hereditary material as passing from generation to generation with the minimum of influence from, or association with the bodies of the parents.t He regards the ovaries and testicles as depositories of hereditary ma- terial. In them is deposited at an early stage of embry- onic life, a part of the germ plasm, there to be retained intact until its host arrives at the age for reproduction. Before reproduction is rendered possible this dormant material within the organs quickens into activity; it ab- sorbs food material from the circulation of its host, in- creases its volume and completes the various processes already explained as essential to the production of ova or spermatozoa. While at first thought it may appear strange to think of this germ plasm as living unmodified in the body from which it derives its support for increase, yet it is no more strange than the fact that widely different classes of plants draw from a particular soil those ele- ments they need, and by virtue of its inherent tendencies each constructs the material into a new plant strictly of the ancestral type and but very slightly modified, if at Wechacce. 27, “Animals and Plants under Domestication.” _ “Continuity of Germ Plasm” is fully presented by Weismann in a chapter on ‘‘The Germ Plasm.” ORIGIN OF THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL 69 all, by the medium in which it has its root. Even so may the germ plasm in the reproductive organs increase in quantity without changing materially its quality. In the manner of its behavior subsequent to fertiliza- tion, in diffusing throughout the embryo and dominating every cell, the germ plasm is quite comparable to the yeast plant. What corresponds to the yeast supply 1s within the reproductive organs and is there perpetuated much like a parasitic growth, and periodically sends off portions of itself to grow and diffuse through a whole new organism just as the small portion of yeast multi- plies, acts upon the flour in each batch of dough and changes it to a quite different product, while the yeast supply 1s continued indefinitely by affording the favor- able conditions to the smallest amount of the original stock. The buttermaker carrying a good starter for a long period affords another analogy. The many changes which animals undergo in the course of time would be accounted for by Weismann on the basis of selection from those The Explanations departures or innovations occasioned Compared. by the necessity of reproduction by sexes, which process we have stud- ied under the heads of maturation and _ fertilization. These vital considerations associated with the preparation and union of sexual cells as set forth in chapter five must not be confused with theory; they are fully demonstrated facts. It will be recalled that it was Weismann who saw the necessity for reducing division and predicted such a discovery before it was actually made.* *Weismann, “The Germ Plasm,” chapter 8. 70 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS The Darwinian theory would regard the germ cell as the epitome or concentration of the parent. While this might be conceivable for the production of most of the organs, a difficulty is encountered in the common case of persistence of lambs’ tails in flocks in which sheep have been docked in early life for scores of generations. Dar- win was not unmindful of this difficulty and met it by supposing the transmission of dormant gemmules carried down from early ancestors not docked, in sufficient num- bers to reproduce such parts, of which the absence in parents would otherwise preclude their presence in the offspring because of the impossibility of such gemmules being present. In this case and in many similar ones, the influence of such dormant gemmules preserved from re- mote parents seems to be the rule rather than the excep- tion. Weismann would regard the continuation of such characters not used or not present in the parents as regu- lar and to be expected. Indeed his idea of continuity readily explains the persistence of such apparently need- less parts as the vermiform appendage and the chestnuts on the legs of horses. In earlier forms these structures were doubtless functional.. Under the Darwinian idea their disappearance and recurrence in offspring could only occur through dormant gemmules, as the exception; un- der the Weismann theory such occurrences would be the rule rather than the exception, as we know they are in nature. If, however, we incline strongly to the theory of continuity of germ plasm we are apparently cut off from all possibility of the reflection in the offspring of even extreme conditions affecting their parents: It ts ad- ORIGIN OF THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL 71 mitted, however, that in extreme cases the lack or abund- ance of a specific substance in the system of the parent body may either retard or facilitate the multiplication within the primary cell of some part of the germ plasm dependent upon such specific substance. Of course, in case of under-support of such hereditary elements they would not be entirely excluded from the germ cells, but the same conditions obtaining for several successive gen- erations would have a positive influence toward: weaken- ing such tendencies just as the opposite kind of support might strengthen them. ‘This is the only provision made by Weismann for direct influence of environment upon heredity.* All else is due to the selection of the parents, governed either by natural demands or the artificial con- siderations obtaining in domestic animals. The selec- tion of parents for their valuable qualities constitutes con- tinual opportunity for modifying the make-up of germ plasm of the succeeding generations. Breeders who adhere to the idea contained in pange- nesis would naturally judge of an animal’s value as a breeder altogether from the charac- Relation of Prac- ters he individually exhibits. His an- tice to the Theories. cestry would be of interest only for chance of conveyance of dormant gemmules which would not be of more than very second- ary importance. Although some breeders often permit what they deem a good line of ancestry to outweigh the individual characters of an animal, yet we must recog- nize the fact that all of our experienced and more suc- *Weismann’s views on this point are contained in a separate Uae Germinal Selection as a Source of Definite Varia- ion. iz BREEDING FARM ANIMALS cessful breeders have been close students of pedigrees and their estimation of an animal’s breeding powers has been based in large part on a knowledge of his ancestors. In so doing they have shown an appreciation of the chief principle of the Weismann idea, namely, that to mold our animals we must rely on changing the germ plasm by infusions by mating rather than by seeking to modify that substance by the influence of external conditions or being guided solely by external appearances. A concep- tion of the nature of the germ plasm contained in an individual must be based upon a knowledge of the an- cestors. from whom that germ plasm was obtained no less than upon individual appearances. The practical signifi- cance of this principle is the subject of the next chapter. CHAPTER VIII. BREEDING AND SELECTION. To say that the breeding of stock is fundamentally and chiefly a matter of selection is to repeat a truism. The primitive germ cells have been Basis of Control seen to go through important of Heredity. changes that determine what part of their contents shall be recon- veyed to the next generation. Any tendencies or char- acters not represented in the material contained in the mature ovum and spermatozoon that unite in fertilization can not by any possible means be found in the new ani- mal resulting from that union. Our only opportunity of controlling the make-up of the parental contributions to the offspring lies in becoming assured that in the whole hereditary substance of either parent there is nothing representative of objectionable characters ; this being true, no matter what enters the embryo, the result is good. Realizing that the parent does not draw from the various parts of its own body the components of the germ plasm we must not allow our- Why Offspring _ selves to regard any parent’s germ Resembles Parents. cell as a recapitulation or even as a representation of itself. Viewing the ancestral source of the germ plasm and its compara- tive independence of the influence of the body, the off- (73) 74 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS spring then becomes an offshoot from the same stream that gave off the parent. Parent and offspring are simi- lar because they have a common origin. The numerous and distant sources from which any animal receives its inheritance are suggested in Fig. 7. The heavy lines from B and C, which enter A, repre- sent the actual hereditary material contribution by those parents from the store in their own bodies, which was also implanted ‘in each by their respective parents, the grandparents of A. A has not inherited and cannot transmit any tendency or quality that has not been con- tributed through his parents or grandparents. Of course it is possible and not improbable that a part of all of C’s inheritance from G may happen to be represented in the polar bodies that perished when the ovum from which A developed underwent maturation, and thus A’s in- heritance through C may be stronger from F than from G or it may be the reverse or equal. This is indicated in the figure by the two lines of C’s inheritance entering separately from F and G, the individuals contributing them, while the stream issuing from C draws from the combined supply an amount the same as entered from each of F and G, shown by the line leading from C be- ing no larger than either of those coming from F and G. A will be able to transmit good qualities in accord- ance with the degree of merit that was conveyed to him from his innumerable and distant Ancestry and progenitors through those that stand Prepotency. nearest him in descent. What pos- sibilities were carried by these channels of inheritance in their devious windings and BREEDING AND SELECTION GRANDSIRE GRANDAM GRANDSIRE GRANDAM G O FIG. 7.—Represents the different lines or streams that enter into every animal’s inheritance. The black circle in each case is the stored hereditary material within the body received from the lines entering on the right from the parents. The line leaving on the left represents the material of the germ cell given off to the individual it is shown to enter. NI on 76 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS what was subtracted from the stores for each germ cell cannot be shown however far back we may undertake to trace the stream. To be sure the fundamental charac- ters do not vary, but the features that give value to do- mestic animals are really minor ones so far as the re- semblance of any individual to his race is concerned. For the breeder’s purpose it is sufficient to know the character of the material in those nearer courses that are most likely to contribute to what has been received by the individual in question. The nature of the inher- itance, reaching A from E and J, can be shown by the development that resulted in the conformation of the bodies of those ancestors. It can also be judged by the development in the bodies of other animals to whose in- heritance these individuals contributed. J’s inheritance may have been a mixed one and some of his offspring may have exhibited undesirable features. If, however, it is known that E was a really good individual and pro- duced mainly good offspring of which B was one, we may consider the stream as having been purified from infe- riority in, that part. of its course. lf sexamination on other lines shows that the flow from the sources of good inheritance has been added to only by other individuals whose superiority is attested by the merit of their off- spring, we are assured that the individual in which these streams unite must transmit the excellence of his strain. This enables us to understand the strong breeding pow- ers of animals whose inheritance traces exclusively through ancestors similar to each other in excellence. The stream of germ plasm has come to be of a pure and homogeneous makeup, and when mixed with that of an BREEDING AND SELECTION 71 animal whose inheritance was not so restricted the pure material is able to dominate the miscellaneous tenden- cies from a mixed ancestry, and we have a pure-bred especially potent in stamping his likeness upon his off- spring. This figure also aids in explaining the phenomenon spoken of as atavism or reversion. The dam of H may have been of a red color, while the How Atavism sire and all the other individuals to May Occur. which B traces were black, and pro- duced only black offspring. The same may be true on the maternal side except that N has an inheritance of red which has been present in both G and C, but held in check by stronger tendencies to black. If an ovum produced by C and containing a strong infusion from N of tendency toward the red color is fertilized by a spermatozoon from B that also happens to carry the remnants of a tendency toward red, then such a union may hold in check the tendencies toward the black color. It is unlikely that the same parents would produce similarly endowed germ cells at another mating, and thus their subsequent progeny would be of. the usual color, as is commonly observed to be the case with parents of red Angus calves. To be assured of having a breeding animal that will transmit the maximum of the good with the minimum of bad it is then necessary to select one that individually exhibits such an inheritance, and that has had no an- cestors from whom it might have received either active or dormant material to produce inferiority. As we pro- ceed backward the probabilities of inheritance from any 78 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS one ancestor diminish, but the possible preservation and recurrence of the contribution of that ancestor must al- ways be reckoned with. The only practical method of directing heredity is to select for mating those animals that carry hereditary material of the desired potency and this can only be secured by the further selection of ap- proved ancestors. This suggests an explanation of the preference some breeders of note have had for breeding the sires they used. In so doing it was possible for them to be more fully familiar with the ancestry and more com- petent to determine with what other descents matings should be made. The foregoing suggests as an ideal prac- tice the selection of good individuals from good stock. These two factors, individuality and pedigree, are the subjects of the next chapters, GHAPTER IX. INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN BREEDING ANIMALS. Any measure of control over heredity attained by any breeder must be through the wisdom of his selection of the parents and ancestors of his Foundation stock. Care and feeding have their Stock. part and are indispensable as aids, but selection is the basis of the whole work. Whether the endeavor be to build up a herd or stud for the production of a uniformly superior class of animals for feeding for market, or to produce animals for others to breed from, selection is of fundamental im- portance. No haphazard unstudied procedure in select- ing from the stock of others for a foundation, or indis- criminate culling of the increase of that foundation stock, can ever give satisfactory returns. It is not imperative that a person beginning the breeding of stock should an- ticipate and formulate a procedure for all possible contin- gencies, but the career of every breeder who has made himself known exhibits a quite clearly defined idea from the outset as to wherein his productions should differ from or accord with the various kinds and types to be found within his chosen breed. Later steps and plans may be decided upon in view of the outcome of earlier (79) SO BREEDING FARM ANIMALS work, but for best results there must be the recognition of a standard toward which to work. It might easily be possible to acquire a large or small aggregation of foundation females with each one a supe- rior individual in herself but unlike Types. each of the others. Perhaps the diversity of types is nowhere more noticeable than in draft horses. At one time a ringside spectator may see the highest premium awarded to a very wide low short-legged squarely built horse while in the succeeding ring preference may be given to a horse of more lofty appearance, rounder, neater, smoother, a less massive but more active kind. Both types are useful, feed well and sell well. Some users find the horse of the first type well qualified to perform the work placed upon him, while in another line of business the second type is more serviceable. One judge with an inclina- tion toward one type may send the premiums to that class of animals, while another judge at another time would give honors to the other. Complete agreement among authorities cannot be expected and is not desired. Both types are good property and fill their peculiar spheres of usefulness. The same holds true in other classes of stock. The type demanded by the cattle, hog, or sheep buyer is practically constant; but within each of the breeds of meat-producing stock there may be found types differing in size, rate of growth, rate of fattening, and grazing qualities, and consequently variously adapted to different sections of country or kinds of farming. The larger coarse later maturing and more rugged type may be more profitable to some men than the finer smaller INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN BREEDING ANIMALS 81 PERCHERON STALLION CHARACTER. 82 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS and more rapidly maturing kind, and each in turn may stand first in the showring and each may be valuable and salable. Whatever may be true of the judge when acting offi- cially, from the view point of the man who is rearing stock for sale the situation is dif- Value of ferent. It is to his financial advan- Type. tage to have his young stock as nearly uniform as possible in type both for feeding and for selling. The same feature is of additional value to him who sells breeding stock. With a band of females of mixed type no one male could sire the same class of offspring from dams of varying stamp. There may be some very good ones from the inharmoni- ous matings and some rare lucky results, but uni- formity of appearance and strong power of transmission cannot result from such procedure. Nor could much uni- formity be looked for in the increase if the sire were of one type and the dams were all of one but a different type. The selection of and adherence to a type is a more vital matter than the selection of a breed. It is the aim to insure the greatest possible amount of certainty regarding the outcome of every mating. Deal- ing with matters so imperfectly Need of understood and so far from direct Full Study. control it is not surprising that the unexpected should often happen. Because the unexpected may and does happen makes it all the more imperative that all possible means of insur- ing the desirable outcome be fully observed. The distinc- tion among breeders lies not so much in the knowledge INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN BREEDING ANIMALS 83 SHIRE STALLION CHARACTER, 8&4 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS they possess as in the thoroughness and persistence with which they utilize all available information. If a pros- pective member of a breeding herd be of the type with which it has been decided to work, it remains to make a careful study of its conformation and all its individual characteristics. The shape of every part of the body, and every feature, such as disposition and digestion, 1s inherited. We do not believe that an animal accumulates contributions from its various parts and organs to form the germ cells, but we do consider that the germ cells are a growth from an unused portion of the germ plasm in the fertilized cell in which that animal had its origin. Every desirable or undesirable feature about the animal is represented in the germ plasm, but unless every por- tion of that material be so strongly charged with the rep- resentation of any specific character as to insure its presence in every germ cell then that character is quite likely to fail of transmission. Undesirable features have exactly the same opportunity to be passed to the off- spring as desirable ones, and the determination of what spermatozoon shall share in fertilization or what chromo- somes shall be in the: ovum is beyond direction. To preclude the possibilities of unwelcome characters in the offspring it is therefore essential that the parents’ store of germ plasm be as nearly as possible free from possi- bilities for inferiority, and evidence as to this is to be had by making a thorough study of every part and feature. We have quite generally recognized and clear- ly defined ideas of good conformation in all types of animals. Fitness to wisely select breeding stock nec- essarily assumes a complete familiarity with at least the INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN BREEDING ANIMALS SHROPSHIRE CHARACTER. 86 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS class of stock in question and some experience in com- paring and forming opinions of Breeder Must — considerable numbers of individuals. Be a Judge. Study of an animal’s fitness to be- come a member of a breeding herd should extend farther than the visible or external features of conformation. In meat-making animals many of the required points of structure are merely indications of the capacity for consuming feed and producing maximum gains therefrom. [acts and records regarding the ani- mal’s feeding and producing qualities are usually obtain- able and are many times more reliable as a basis of esti- mate than the most pleasing indications of the same ca- pacities. With stock of which the usefulness may be made a matter of actual test, as is the case in dairy cattle, records of actual performance constitute the best possible evidence of individual merit, though age and various conditions affecting such a trial must be taken into ac- count. | Among animals equally pleasing in build and appar- ently similar in efficiency of their special functions there often exists a marked variation in Prepotency. their power of transmitting their characteristics. Though such vari- ation may frequently be due to differences in lineage yet certain features of individuality are found to be quite uniformly associated with power of transmission or prepotency. Prepotency in untested breeders is evidenced by that combination of physical attributes that gives to any animal a pronounced individualism, or as breeders term it, character. It is not easy to analyze character INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN BREEDING ANIMALS 87 HAMPSHIRE CHARACTER. COTSWOLD CHARACTER. 88 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS into its component parts, but since it 1s so closely associ- ated with prepotency an explanation of the term as used in stock-breeding is very desirable. Character, or the ap- pearance of strong individualism, is Character. contributed to by three things: style, high development of the appear- ances associated with sex, and that robustness and vigor of expression that can only be present where perfect health and spirits are coexistent. Style as related to prepotency 1s allied more with breeding than with individuality. Its presence argues an inheritance from the animals produced by the fore- most breeders who have always sought to combine at- tractiveness with utility. Appearances associated with sex, masculinity or femininity are often regarded as the main evidence of prepotency. We cannot recognize de- grees in sex, but as in the case of a male the full de- velopment of the neck and front and the frontal bones of the face, though only secondary sexual qualities them- selves, manifest the activity and full vigor of the func- tional organs with which they are connected. Likewise in the female the neatness of the neck and refinement of the features of the face, and the gentle disposition, all evi- dence the assertion of the female tendencies that have much to do with the young, both before and after birth. The robustness and vigor of expression read in the coun- tenance and mainly in the eyes, and also reflected in bold- ness of movement, are probably the most directly associ- ated with prepotency of all the things that may be re- garded as contributing to character. The appearance and manifestation of maximum vigor and vitality can only be HUlASMWUas ‘UHLOVUVHO AVOd INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN BREEDING ANIMALS 89 90 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS present where all organs of the body that have to do with digestion, circulation, respiration and the nervous system that controls all continuously perform their full work. This maximum efficiency of all organs makes up constitution and is indicated nowhere else so satis- factorily as in the expression of the countenance and in the general bearing, behavior and carriage. The presence of this condition, the complete health and nourishment of the body, insures the highest vigor, vitality and activity of the germ Significance cells. It cannot change the make- of Character. up of the germ plasm, but it may control its strength and power and thus give a much higher degree of prepotency than would be possible if the animal had been naturally weak or listless and low in physical vigor. The qualities that make up constitution and are therefore so closely akin to this character are inherent ones, represented in the germ plasm reserved in the parent for reproductive purposes, and therefore they may enter into the heredity of the off- spring just the same as any other feature of the indi- vidual’s physique. When possessed of such inheritance the offspring is imbued with the functiona! capacities that will enable it to withstand retarding and debilitat- mg influences and, what is more important, to make the maximum response to careful and liberal feeding. The power to produce in proportion to the wisdom and liber- ality of the feeding is the fundamental distinction be- tween improved and natural animals. Sires of proved worth are often retained in active service until they reach an advanced age. So long as INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN BREEDING ANIMALS 9] they remain in good physical condition and there is no noticeable decline in their impress Age and upon their get there is no reason Prepotency. for regarding age as a factor in prepotency. When continued in service after the beginning of physical decline there is also a decline in the character of their progeny, showing again the relation to prepotency of an unimpaired individuality, and showing also the necessity of judging vigor by actual appearances rather than by the number of years through which the animal has passed. Distinctive breed features such as color, shape of face Or ear, or set of ‘horn; are also a part of individuality as distinguished from pedigree. Fancy These features, commonly referred Points. to as fancy points, while of no im- mediate usefulness are of consider- able assistance in the selection of breeding stock. In the first place their presence is helpful because by the unin- itiated they are regarded as trademarks, guaranteeing the presence of those special qualities on which rests the value and popularity of the particular breed they adorn. Where found apart from tangible evidences of actual utility they of course avail but little. It must be borne in mind, however, that it has ever been the object of the intelligent and far-seeing breeders to fix upon their stock such distinctive and attractive features as will com- mend them to the public and also appeal to and please the searchers after qualities of utility. In some instances selection has been based more on fancy than on utility points, to the great detriment of the latter, but when 92 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS found combined with proof or indications of real merit these fancy points serve as evidence of inheritance from the herds of the more discerning breeders and add assur- ance to the inheritance of and power to transmit the practical essentials. According to the view of heredity pervading this dis- cussion of individuality there is no possible means of a parent’s transmitting to its progeny the effects of acci- dents or injuries. Exception must be made, however, to those abnormal conditions resulting from an inherited tendency toward such conditions. We ‘do = not believe that the germ cells carry representative material derived from each part of the parent body, but we do believe that the offspring will resemble the parent because they have a common source, and to be satisfied that the source is a good one we demand that the parent present high individual excellence as a proof thereof. CHAPTER XS: PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS. Experience and science each afford abundant proof that rigidness of selection must apply no less to ances- tors than to the present individual. We must judge of the hereditary material not alone by its accomplishment in a single instance but by its various sources and behavior in other instances of its existence. Progeny the It must be clearly recognized that Best Test. as a basis of estimate of breeding powers nothing can compare with actual test, and where the progeny of a possible purchase are to be seen, individuality and pedigree both become at best secondary factors. In judging the results of a breed- ing test, however, it 1s necessary to have careful and full regard for the character of animals with which the in- dividual was mated and the opportunity for development afforded the offspring. The parentage of increase of a fair degree of merit under limited opportunities is not satisfactory assurance of the ability to produce excellence when accorded the most favorable opportunity. It is but rarely, however, that an animal of proved excellence as a breeder is offered for sale, and selections have mainly to be made from untested stock on the basis of individuality and pedigree. (93) 04 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS It is idle to discuss the relative importance of indi- viduality and ancestry. One may be as valuable as the other in indicating what an animal will transmit; neither can safely be ignored or slighted and no breeder of note has ever failed to be a close student of both. “Individual excellence by inheritance” is the watchword of those whose stock gives them the most uniform excellence of increase. Inasmuch as each parent contributed to the offspring equal amounts of hereditary material and also received equally from their parents in turn it Form of is necessary to place equal emphasis Pedigree on the paternal and maternal lines of descent. It is quite possible that the hereditary material bequeathed by one parent may be stronger for good or for bad than the contribution of the FIG. 8-TABULAR FORM OF PEDIGREE. Ys NBS icee ete re a ( | fea ten erent ie (N aR eae ene Ne other. This may be due to more careful selection of that parent’s ancestors, but it cannot be associated with either sex, and this further emphasizes the necessity of an examination of all the lines of descent. In arranging such lines of descent on paper for intensive study it is PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS 95 imperative that what is commonly known as the tabular arrangement shown in Fig. 8 be followed. Other forms of writing may be more economical of space and show a longer line of descent on one side, but for actual use in estimating breeding usefulness no other form is com- parable with the tabulation which shows clearly every line of descent. In studying an untested animal, represented by A in Fig. 8, whose individual make-up and qualities are ap- proved, further evidence is needed All Ancestors’ regarding what may be contained in Must Be Studied. and transmitted by his hereditary material, because we know that any quality or character represented in A’s germ plasm may appear in his get whether or not it was exhibited by him- self. Crudely, A may be thought of as a composite or as an average of his ancestry, but from our knowledge of the facts of the preparation of the germ cells we recognize the possibility of having scanty or no inheritance from D, i. &, or G. 1 1s also conceivable that there might have been handed down to him the impress of H or I or another in the same line much more strongly than from a nearer ancestor, all through the uncertainties of com- binations of chromosomes or the seeming caprices possible in the formation of germ cells. It is therefore necessary to consider each ancestor as being represented in A unless tangible facts justify the conclusion that inheritance from any certain individual has been eliminated. Since it is manifestly impossible to understand the ultimate source of the germ plasm which A has inherited so variously, a study of what it has done in its more recent phases prom- 96 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS ises the greatest enlightenment in regard to its poten- tialities. Since A is equally indebted to B and C we are natur- ally first concerned regarding those two animals and to them we may apply the tests we Breeding Records would prefer to apply to any animal OF Parents: in the following order: first, char= acter of offspring; second, individu- ality; third, origin or breeding. The first named is usu- ally practicable for parents and much greater value may be attached to the pedigree of an aninial whose sire and dam are both proved to have produced offspring of merit. In considering the first produce of a sire or dam con- servatism would at least suggest awaiting an opportunity to inspect subsequent progeny, which 1s usually no hin- drance where sires are concerned. A few extra good and a large number of mediocre offspring would show the presence of potentialities for inferiority and compel the recognition of the possibility of a dormant inheritance of inferiority even in the more pleasing ones. Here, too, however, fair regard must be had for the opportunity for production of superior progeny afforded in their develop- ment and the choice of their other parent.) Where me breeding test can be used it may properly outweigh all other considerations; in fact, some of the most noted matrons that have been frequent breeders and good moth- ers are far from attractive in appearance in their advanced years. When it seems desirable to still weigh the merits of an animal one or both of whose parents cannot be spoken for by their fruits, a full opportunity to study individu- PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS 97 ality cannot be foregone. In studying individualities of parents it becomes imperative to in- Similarity of sist on their being at least very Type in Parents. similar in type. Nor would even championship honors in close com- petition be sufficient assurance, because it is quite possible that under different judges or in different situations both male and female may have been accorded highest honors and yet represent types unsuited to each other. The progeny from such unions should certainly be required to first prove themselves capable of transmitting the blended excellence of their parents if indeed they have the unusual good fortune to exhibit a harmonious union of their di- vergent parental types. Showyard decisions at best constitute a-very doubtful basis for the estimate of individual merit as a guide in breeding unless the selection 1s Value of Show made by one sufficiently familiar Awards. with his work to be able to make necessary allowance for official opinions and subsequent changes of form. In most classes of stock the show records of the progeny of indi- viduals in the pedigree under study will need to be relied upon to furnish evidence of their rank as breeders. A show record may do more or less than justice to a single ani- mal, but applied to what his offspring have done in the ring it is almost sure to represent his actual standing in his breed. Due consideration must be had for probable variations in opinion of judges and for the inequalities of competition on different occasions and at different places. Then, too, in weighing the achievements of the progeny 08 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS of a particular sire or dam undue stress must not be laid upon a single offspring of phenomenal record to the ex- clusion of others of no note. Inheritance from a sire most of whose get could earn even fourth or fifth position or even honorable mention in harder competition would be much Fair Estimate _ preferable to that from an animal OF “Sire. siring one champion and no others of more than very local repute or of fame borrowed from their kindred. Also in many instances a second premium 1s practically as honorable as a first in spite of the fact that nearly all the general ac- claim is accorded the holder of the end position. The prizes for get of sire and produce of dam awarded in our shows are the most valuable of all for showing the pre- potency of parents. Strange as it may seem, not one of the breeds has any official register of the results of showyard trials. One very laudable attempt was made by a Hereford breeder to establish a “star list” which was arranged to show with a minimum of searching the achievements of every win- ner and producer of winners in the larger shows. Such publications, to fully meet the wants, must be prepared by persons who cannot be thought of as having any in- terest in any animal, herd or strain. Some of the beef cattle herd books have appended lists of awards at lead- ing shows, but so far these are not arranged to encourage even an anxious inquirer to attempt to procure the record of a particular animal. For the most part, information of this character must still be obtained from the history as recorded in the agricultural journals and periodicals and PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS 99 from association with persons in whose memories the facts have been preserved. With dairy cattle and race horses the records are much more useful. While showing is popular, merit is proved chiefly by actual test of function. Advanced A record of having produced 20 Registers. pounds of butter in a week, or of having trotted a mile in 2:15, re- quires no consideration of errors in judgment or un- worthy competition. The standard is an absolute one and can be applied at any time or place. It is possible that such records may not fully represent the capacities of the individuals because of limited opportunities, and espe- cially with the cows a knowledge of food consumed dur- ing the test is desirable, but there can be no gainsaying that fact that under conditions surrounding the trial the animal possessed the ability to perform as recorded. Such trials also render it easy to state the achievements of the progeny of any sire or dam. The information made available in the “Year Book” for trotting horse breeders is of the greatest service in selection and study of an- cestry and is doubtless in large measure accountable for the remarkable accomplishments in breeding for trotting speed. Tables similar to those in the “Year Book” may be forthcoming for dairy breeds as soon as official test- ings have been in use for a sufficient time. Although the significance of showring prizes is less dependable than test records it would seem that a great help would be af- forded breeders of other classes of stock by preserving and publishing well arranged show records and compil- ing tables showing sires and dams with lists of names 100 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS and achievements of their progeny that had been ex- hibited. The question may properly be raised, is it safe or fair to withhold our esteem from progenitors, which though worthy, were allowed no opportu- Obscured nity to make a show career or to Merit. take a record? Doubtless some ant- mals of extraordinary capacities have been allowed to live and die in comparative obscur- ity. Such individuals must necessarily have been the property of men not active nor prominent in the affairs of the breed handled; otherwise the merits of their stock would have been made known. If such an animal were unrightfully retained in obscurity with no opportunity to justify himself through his offspring, the probability of underestimating any valuable inheritance from him is very small because his excellence must have died with him. Animals without offspring to speak for them, besides standing on their individuality must also lean in turn upon their parents, and even when Grandparents. no such lack exists the grandparents must be well scrutinized to afford a fuller knowledge of the inheritance and possibilities that may have been imparted to the descendant. Grandsires and grandams must be measured by the same standards as were set up for the first parents, namely, character of offspring, individual merit, and ancestry. Here there will always be opportunity to learn what has been achieved under actual breeding test and this considera- tion will outweigh the other two. It is necessary, though, to be assured that grandsire or grandam, as the case may PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS 1Oe be, has transmitted the good features, and if undesir- able ones do exist, that they have been counteracted in the selection of mates and are at least less prominent in the succeeding generation. The third section of our stand- ard carries us into another generation and the question naturally arises as to how far we must carry this study. It is altogether reasonable to place greatest emphasis on the more recent progenitors and correspondingly less on those more remote. The study of pedigree is an effort to understand through an examination of its various sources the nature of the accumulated hereditary material. The further back we can trace the course of its flow and the more exhaustive our scrutiny of the various tribu- taries or sources of supply, the more dependable and com- plete is our information. A long line of ancestors with records of having produced: the minimum of inferiority and of having continued to produce uniformly in accord- ance with their own type is the strongest possible and only conclusive proof that the hereditary material has been fully purged from all impurities by careful selec- tion exercised by the breeders of those former genera- tions in their elimination of all ancestors exhibiting or producing undesirable qualities. A breeder is likely to meet with two other types of pedigrees, one in which the first three or four generations show animals of merit as indi- Near and Remote viduals and as breeders but in which Ancestors. the back lines show few familiar names and represent obscurity 1f not inferiority. The other kind of breeding is more com- mon, that in which the fourth and more remote lines 102 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS show many animals of fairly earned distinction but in which the nearer generations have not come to fame and seem to rely more on their descent than on themselves or their performances. Either one of such pedigrees must be considered much less valuable than one in which all lines are of proved superiority, but of the two, the one with obscurity surrounding near relations is inferior to the one with distinction in close lines and obscurity in re- mote lines. The esteem in which this latter style of pedi- gree is sometimes held has prompted some well mean- ing writers to decry as a snare and a delusion the whole matter of pedigree. Certainly in its abuse it does pre- sent an insidious danger which has brought loss and disappointment to many. Z in the tabulation shown in Fig. 9 typifies the kind of breeding under discussion. A may be taken to represent a sire of earned popu- larity and of whose sons A 4th proves to be able to beget stock of more than ordinary merit. This fact when properly advertised by his owner, creates a strong de- mand for his offspring. In the haste and eagerness to secure such stock, individual merit of the purchases is ignored, or else it is hoped that the offspring of A 13th will resemble A 4th rather than their own sire. At other times it is expected that the continued popularity of the strain will continue to unduly attach itself to the de- scendants and enable them to sell in spite of their defects. In the desire to profit by the popularity of A 4th his owner may mate him to inferior females and retain such offspring, of which A 13th may be one, that show plainly that they inherit more deeply of the defects than of the excellencies of their sire, or they may show that the fe- PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS 103 male Q was not well adapted to mating with A 4th. The came blind adherence to U, an inferior descendant of the really meritorious B 3rd, gives X a double infusion of the inheritance from what should have been the rejected off- spring and misrepresentatives of really good breeding in- dividuals. Confidence placed in Z solely because of his FIG. 9-TABULATION SHOWING RELATION TO A DISTINGUISHED ANCESTOR, ee ee ee 3 Bi Gila eee bf LG Ue ee af Sree ar ey: J Ur Z. J Ges eee K Wir abe Awecgs C Cita: L 7 a pe ee ee kinship to A and B 3rd ignores the fact that less than one-quarter of his inheritance comes from these two ani- mals while the remainder is from others inferior by in- heritance. While it must be admitted that such as Z will often find buyers, and it might be possible to justify traffic in the kind because others erroneously overrate them, yet the probabilities of his transmitting the charac- 104 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS teristics of his few distant ancestors of note are too triv- ial to. justify regarding his use as other than a random experiment. Real or pretended faith in the value of such a pedigree represents the abuse rather than the use of a study of the ancestry and is damaging because it ignores the absolute necessity of first applying the tests to the members of the nearer generations, The appearance of the name of the most distinguished animal in the fourth or fifth line signifies very little. Earned popularity as a sire attaches to sons and grandsons, the inferior as well as the better ones being sought for by less discriminating buyers. All the sires in use in any breed at a given time trace to a surprisingly small number of predecessors. Consequently almost any animal will trace once to a well known individual, and if the attention is allowed to centre mainly on the remote lines practically all animals will be found able to boast of distinguished ancestors in common. “A worthy son of a worthy sire” expresses the principle that cannot safely be lost sight of. Unusual performance under test or extraordinary showring success often causes a very eager demand for the offspring of the animal so elevated, or for others so nearly related as to have promise of producing similar excellence. Such a strain or family then becomes fash- ionable and rightly so, because the fashion proceeds from incontrovertible merit. It 1s only when there is an in- discriminate acceptance of unworthy representatives of worthy families that the fashion becomes a blind craze, with the deteriorating influences referred to in the pre- ceding paragraphs. The reference to fashion at this time, however, is made for the purpose of introducing the mat- PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS 105 ter of family names. It is the custom, particularly in some breeds of cattle, to lay stress Fashion and on family names. It is argued that Family Names. among so many herds and varied strains of breeding there is need of such names as shall furnish some information regard- ing the line of descent. In the human family names are usually preserved through the male line. A person bear- ing the name of Smith may have scores of ancestors of other names and nationalities for one of the Smith fam- ily, and it is but rarely that different families of the same name have much more than the name in common unless they are otherwise akin. Nevertheless, the use of the name is a necessity whether or not it is any sug- gestion of family characteristics. The claim is made that a similar system is desirable for use among animals and since the name of the sire attaches to so many individuals the name of the dam is used instead. The right of use of any particular name is accorded only to those whose an- cestry traces exclusively through females to the foundress of the family. It seems likely that family names came into use more through incidental causes than as a designed com- pliance with an actual need. When the breeds were be- ing formed and when a very few herds included all the bet- ter stock some females were especial favorites with their owners because of their excellence as breeders. It was much more definite to refer to a calf as a son or grand- son of the cow Duchess than to designate Him as the off- spring of a sire whose get included a large number of in- dividuals of various maternal ancestries. Certain females 106 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS transmitted particular and valuable qualities and it nat- urally became advantageous to own animals closely re- lated to such foundresses of families. While a son might be equally as valuable as a daughter for perpetuating those qualities it was to the advantage of the owners to apply the family name only to descendants through the female line. It was thereby practicable for them to retain in their own herds as many as they chose of such descend- ants, while- the males leaving the herd would share the prestige of the family but could not add to the numbers of those entitled to the family name. At the time re- ferred to herd books were not established and no printed pedigrees were available, so statement of membership in a particular family was useful even if only partial in- formation regarding breeding. In America it is customary to recognize imported fe- males as originators of family names. So long as the de- scendants exhibit the characteristics that popularized their family name they are rightfully entitled to any preference wttaching thereto, but when it amounts to the blind or unintelligent scramble for the discards of those families and becomes purely a matter of name, only injury can result. The animal Z in the tabulation of page 103 1s a member of the P family, even should another female ap- pear a half dozen times in the same line, because the fe- male descent is unbroken only to P. On the other hand, iight esteem or prejudice is sometimes attached to de- scendants of females blacklisted by owners of contempo- raneous stock, or by an unfounded suspicion, in spite of the fact that the animal regarding which the question is raised cannot at most derive I per cent of its inheritance PEDIGREES OF BREEDING ANIMALS 107 from the defamed progenitor. That family names are not a real necessity is made clear by the continued ad- vance made by most of the breeds in which no preference attaches to direct descent from one matron over that ac- corded to the same possibility of influence through inter- vening male ancestors. In such breeds as retain the cus- tom it is not the rule for the animal’s recorded name to contain any part of the family name and it seems entirely probable that use of family names will soon be altogether abandoned. With officially recorded names and numbers for each animal and easily obtained complete pedigrees the need of indicating descent in a name no longer ex- ists, though it is a useful practice to give immediate off- spring of a well known male or female such names as will suggest their parentage. The matter of judging pedigree, like that of judging the animals themselves, is much more simple in theory than in practice. Even were it pos- Significance of — sible to obtain all desired informa- Breeders Names. tion regarding a pedigree, there is no possible form of expressing in abstract terms the measure of its value, but to one who has a wide and impartial knowledge of recent and cur- rent happenings it is quite an easy matter to arrive at a safe opinion of the total value of the ancestry of any ani- mal as presented in a well written pedigree. But it is in securing such information as is sure to be desired that one of the practical difficulties arises. Applying the triple test of character of progeny, individual merit, and breeding, to each ancestor appearing in the tabulated form, it may often happen that some ancestor near 108 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS enough to be of importance will be unknown except for the name of its breeder. Impressions of outstanding in- dividuals, and of many less notable but more familiar, are easily retained. ra) l (266) HULAHSdOUHs WV SHEEP BREEDING 267 268 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS crops that can be arranged to furnish a variety of forage and sufficient change of ground. Such farming for sheep involves more labor than allowing Economy of them to run on old pastures but it Sheep Raising. wards off their peculiar ailments and permits them to make their maximum returns. Furnished with the right kind of feed sheep will consume more in proportion to their size than do large animals and produce more in proportion to the feed consumed. It is only when the essential features of natural environment are preserved and improved under domestication that sheep can thrive fully. Otherwise they are less useful than they may be. All of our breeds of mutton sheep originated in Eng- land. Much has been done in fixing characters in the various breeds that will adapt them to varying altitudes and types of soil. The length of time through which the oldest of the breeds has been selected and cared for is far too short to overcome the force of natural features bred into the original stock by thousands of years of natural selection. Mutton production is profitable under the careful English shepherding on valuable lands. Im- ported sheep are much more prominent than home-bred ones in American shows of the mutton breeds and large numbers of rams are imported to head breeding’ flocks. The unusual development and the English vigor of the English sheep is a re- Shepherding. sult of the system. of rearing their stock. Climatic advantages enable their shepherds to raise the crops needed with fewer dif- ficulties than are met with in some states, but it has 269 SHEEP BREEDING SOUTHDOWN RAM. 270 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS been abundantly proved in our shows that good breeding supported by the right kind of care and feeding produces sheep in this country fully equal to the best from the homes of the breeds. Buyers of breeding sheep are seldom prepared to es- timate the merits of pedigrees. Selections are based nearly altogether on individuality alone and this explains part of the disappointments that are not uncommon. When selections are made in such a Pedigrees Not way as to secure actual merit sup- to Be Ignored. ported by breeding, and the details of care and rearing are attended to, sheep breeding is a most pleasant and profitable occupa- tion. The value of good blood is often obscured by the fact that the lambs from meritorious sires and dams are not handled in such a way as to permit them to exhibit the capacity for development that they have inherited. Success with sheep depends upon unremitting attention to a number of details, and the more intensified farming of the future is certain to bring 1n a more general and more careful sheep husbandry. The numerous breeds of medium and long-wool sheep represent every combination of qualities likely to be needed for adaptation to particular sections or systems of rearing. They differ im size-and in character of fleece, but the more vital distinctions grow out of the factors that have governed the selections of the makers of the breeds. Selection for rapid growth in some breeds has necessitated less strict adherence to the mutton form than has been practiced in the homes of other breeds. The fundamental features of adaptability are revealed by IN QO] BREEDING SHEEP HAMPSHIRE RAM, 272 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS study of the conditions under which and for which each of the breeds has been developed. Breeders and judges magnify the importance of type in all breeds. It 1s sometimes insisted that an animal should not win, no matter what its mutton qualities, unless it exhibits the distinguishing characteristics of its breed. These characteristics are considered Breed to consist mainly of the covering Type. and features of the head, and gen- eral conformation is given secondary consideration as contributing to type. Although breed type is. very desirable’ it. is not an-end. in. 1tseliy ire measure in which any animal exhibits the peculiar fea- tures of its breed should indicate its possession of the inherent tendencies that constitute its adaptability to the conditions for which its breed was produced. So long as breed character is held secondary to mutton qualities in breeding a mutton flock these incidental peculiarities are useful as indicating trueness to breed usefulness. When type is construed to consist of minor peculiarities of head and coloring, and more vital qualities are rele- gated to second place, then the indication is substituted for the reality, and actual commercial usefulness must de- cline. Breed points, or fancy points as they are some- times erroneously designated, have a value but it is always a secondary one. The United States is still a large importer of wool. A part of the home-grown wools are the equal of the best produced elsewhere but the amount has never equaled the requirements. Cheaper lands in countries of sparse populations produce the wool needed by older countries. SHEEP BREEDING COTSWOLD EWE. 274 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS Our own southwestern and northwestern states rank high in wool production but few of the farming sections have entered extensively into the produc- Fine Wools tion of wool. In 1807 the states m America. then formed offered bounties to en- courage the production of wool. Societies were also formed at that time to encourage all kinds of home manufacturers and render the nation less dependent on materials from abroad. In the same year the first Merino sheep were taken west of the Alleghany Mountains. These sheep were the offspring of stock reared in Spain. Except for short periods wool-grow- ing has ever since been fostered by tariffs designed to keep wool prices above the values in the countries where they are produced more cheaply. When such protection has been temporarily withdrawn, the breeding of fine- wool sheep has been seriously affected. _ Fine wools are used in making of fabrics that could not be made from the wool of the mutton breeds. When fabrics made from Merino wools are in light demand the price of the wool is not in proportion to its quality but the weight of the fleece is always an important factor. Numerous sub-breeds and classes have been produced and provisions furnished for registration of local types and strains not sufficiently distinct to be considered breeds. There is great difficulty in maintaining the maximum density and fineness of staple. For this purpose some flocks have been maintained to furnish these qualities in an extreme degree even though the sheep themselves are not considered suitable for farm breeding. Although it cannot be denied that these features are very difficult to Zio SHEEP BREEDING AMERICAN MERINO RAM, BREEDING FARM ANIMALS 276 WYd LYTINOINVY SHEEP BREEDING 27 retain, it is true that part of the difficulty has been due to lack of appreciation of the influence of ancestry. The offspring of sheep of the desired Maintaining practical type have shown a dete- the Type. rioration due in many cases to the fact that the parents themselves or the grandparents were the result of the mating of extreme types, and then particular individualities were not fixed enough to insure their transmission. Considerable numbers of sheep of the fine-wool classes have been exported to South Africa and Australia in recent years, and even should commercial breeding for wool be interfered with, the prestige of our professional breeders should enable them to continue to breed for the foreign trade, CHAPTER XXII. SWINE BREEDING. The swine-raising industry has reached a development in America greater than anywhere else in the world. Other countries have effected improvement in their bacon- producing swine, but the world’s lard supply comes from the cornbelt. The improvement of swine for lard pro- duction began with the occupancy of cornbelt lands. The horses and cattle brought by settlers from east of the Alleghanies and from Europe were satisfactory for the time, but it was not so with the swine. Upon this class of stock devolved the work of readily converting the easily grown corn into a marketable product. Since the establishment of the first American breed, the Poland-China, down to the present, the most serious problems of American swine breeders have arisen from that striking feature of the environment of their swine, the corn diet. . The original types, Need of of which there were many, were too Improvement. coarse and ill-proportioned from the standpoint of those in charge of the first packing*enterprises..~ It: was -also e@lear that a greater economy of production was desirable. Development was too slow and too small in propor- tion to the feed consumed. The offspring of some of the stock at hand became marketable at an earlier age (278) 2/9 SWINE BREEDING BERKSHIRE BOAR. 280 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS than the others did and the blood of such was freely used. This was no occasion to consider the idea of impairment of size or prolificacy. The great defects for many years were slow fattening and lack of market qualities. Until the beginning of the second quarter of the nineteenth century efforts to improve the swine were necessarily scattered and not very effective. Developments of the years following gave promise of reward to breeders who could supply the most profitable type of swine to the rapidly increasing numbers of farmers in the corn-growing areas. The Berkshire was the most carefully bred hog obtainable, Breed though his breeding in England had- Building. not been directed with a view to adaptation to utilization of corn. However he was superior in many ways to the native stock and gained a place. Selection among descendants of crosses of the Berkshire with stock combining the good features of the types previously used gave the foundation of the Poland-China. The pronounced disposition to fatten that character- ized this breed brought it into strong demand for im- proving the stock upon farms where little improvement had been effected. The native sows being disposed to mature slowly but to reach good size and breed freely, the opposite extremes were really Extremes needed for mating with them in Needed. order that the offspring should be as nearly right as possible. Most of the breeders made their selections to meet the general de- mand. Heavy feeding of corn was commonly practiced. 281 SWINE BREEDING POL AN D CHINA BO AR, 282 BREEDING: FARM -ANIMALS Animals of the smaller size soon passed through the period of most rapid growth and became fat at an earlier age than those with greater tendencies to growth. Because corn alone is more favorable to fattening than to growth its use in herds being bred for early-maturing qualities was an important factor in the elimination of animals that fattened less rapidly in their growing days. Well sustained gains are possible only by the continued development of frame that characterizes animals capable of coming to large size. The extreme of early fattening means rapid gains from accumulation of fat and also cessation of gains at a comparatively early age. It has been said that the tendency in all Results of breeding of improved stock is to go Extremes. to extremes. Extremes are usually demanded by stock-raisers who see the need of improvement in their previously neglected animals. Continued adherence to an extreme type in the herd eventually results in difficulty. If followed by a majority of those working with a breed it results in the stock becoming unsuitable to the needs of the raisers of | commercial stock who first demanded the extreme type. This is no more true of swine than of other stock. Prog- ress toward the extreme in swine was facilitated by the fact that corn-feeding aided the selection of less growthy swine. It also served to accentuate the tendency to small litters which naturally accompanies the curtailment of erowth. Because one generation of swine follows an- other only twelve months later the results of selection appear in a very short time. Judges at fairs are usually breeders. They naturally af-OOUNd Ads “aVOd SWINE BREEDING i) (oe) 284 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS take as their standard the type of animal for which buyers will pay most liberally. The early type of show hog in the cornbelt was the type Show that was demanded and needed by Type. the buyers of sires of market hogs. Developments in farm herds of swine also come rapidly and a comparatively few years of breeding to boars of the show type and of heavy corn-feeding brought the farm sows very close to the same type. It was then that complaints were made of lightness of bone, which means lack of size and growthi- ness. Smallness of litters was also an outcome of the same conditions and methods. The show type was spoken of as something separate and distinct from the farmers’ type although it was first established as a result of farmers’ demands. The earliest improved breeds were the first to undergo such evolution in type and popularity. The logical remedy lay in the use of opposite extremes. Opening for These were usually found in newer More Breeds. breeds still retaining unimpaired size and fecundity along with native coarseness and slowness in maturing. All the older breeds of swine have passed through much the same stage. The changes illustrate the idea that every wrong condition works its own remedy though after a great cost to indi- viduals. The incoming breeds have not escaped the effects of the influences that brought them into demand though the workers with more recent introductions have seen the necessity of combining refinement and ready fattening qualities with a desirable degree of size and SWINE BREEDING 285 growthiness and have demonstrated the possibility of such a combination. The rising and waning of the height of popularity of successive American breeds of swine compels one im- portant conclusion. Neither real success nor profit can come to the breeder or raiser who proceeds by the mating of opposite extremes. [ven though the mixing of breeds is avoided opposite types within a breed must necessarily be the product of different methods Mixing and the descendants of wholly dif- Types. ferent animals. The union of such is subject to the same uncertainties that follow blending the blood of animals of different breeds, even though the progeny remains eligible to regis- tration. Errors having been made and realized, such a step may be the beginning of correction but it is a retracing rather than an advance. Farm production of swine or other market stock is most satisfactory and most remunerative when the nec- essity for reversing methods and changing types or breeds is entirely avoided. If breeding Continuity stock is selected to embody the best m Farm possible combination of qualities for Breeding. | the market with the essentials of economic production, progress can continue without interruption. New sires selected for their possession and inheritance of the same qualities serve to raise the standard of the females and to reduce the proportion of inferior offspring by strengthening the blood. What is aimed at in bringing in new sires may also be contributed to in selection of the females which 286 BREEDING FARM ANIMALS become increasingly uniform and prepotent as time goes on. There have not been wanting workers with the older breeds who foresaw the ultimate outcome of continued breeding in accordance with the extreme demands and needs of owners of wholly unimproved stock. Such far-— seeing men have saved the day for Conservative their breeds by breeding the medium Breeders. types which needed no correction and which they foresaw must ulti- mately be generally adopted. Occurrences in swine breed- ing also show the need of foresight on the part of pro- fessional breeders. To be permanently successful they must recognize and adhere to the essential points. The final result of the fads and extremes of transient popu- larity must be foreseen and avoided. The breeder has greater need than has the raiser of commercial stock to forecast demands that come through changing economical conditions or as a result of errors or misconceptions of the large number. It is with breeders endowed with such powers of perception that the permanency of our live stock industry rests. They have also frequent occasion to show the courage of their convictions by running counter to the ideas of a majority of their fellows or by giving the note of warning of the result of adherence to an impractical ideal. The few breeders of unusual Breeder's courage and judgment, upon whom Reward. so much rests at times, do not al- ways live to see the return of their fellows to the conservative standards. , The benefit of SWINE BREEDING Zor their work may sometimes go to those who follow them, though real ability as a breeder very seldom fails of receiving material compensation. The fascination of molding animal form makes the breeder’s work an absorb- ing pleasure. To have earned the right to feel that he has aided in rendering domestic animals more useful to mankind is his most prized reward. One copy del. to Cat. Div. auG 22 -9°' Hi