librarian
Well-known member
Spell Check modified Asterix to Asteroid, which was funny, but I fixed the title.
But, Asteroid would be a good name for an Asterix bull.
The post was:
I read this in an article in thar 1921 Shorthorns in America magazine.
I did not realize that animals could be bred up into the Coates Herd book, or how that system worked. I believe the author is in Canada.
“PLAINLY BRED"
In Great Britain a man can start with a grade Shorthorn cow and after using purebred bulls for four generations he can record her female descendants in Coates‘ Herd Book. A fifth cross makes her male descendants eligible for registration. These cattle are accepted for registration in our Dominion Herd Book, but our rules will not admit cattle so graded up in this country.Canadian bred cattle must have both sire and dam recorded before they are eligible for registration. This is a safe rule, but there is something strange about our method of valuing cattle bred in our own country.
For example. a cow which is only five or six generations removed from a grade Shorthorn female ancestor is brought to this country from Scotland. She is accepted for registration in our herd book. and since the grading up process has been performed in Scotland, she is said to be of straight Scotch breeding. So far we have no fault to find- Then, suppose we havc a cow with a pedigree like that of Myrtle Beau. This cow has five practically straight Scotch bulls at the top of her pedigree, or just as many as the other cow has, but instead of terminating in a grade cow like that of the other, it runs back through eight more generations of recorded ancestors to the imported cow Lily, who also has recorded ancestors back of her. Which of these two cows is the better bred? the Scotch cow with five Scotch crosses on a grade foundation, or the Canadian cow with five Scotch crosses on a. foundation which runs back through nine or ten generations of recorded ancestors?
Surely the Canadian cow is better bred than the other, if the bulls appearing in her pedigree are nearly the equal of the bulls in the other. Let us assume that the five Scotch bulls appearing in each pedigree are equal in merit, and let these two cows be put through an auction sale. The imported cow will outsell the other by long odds, even though she may not be so good an individual. Ask the reason, and you will be told that the one is straight Scotch and the other is “plainly bred." If either cow is plainly bred surely it is the imported one, but so popular is Scotch breeding that the short-pedigreed Scotch cow is quite acceptable, while the other is discounted because she does not trace to Scotland in all her blood lines. When we consider the fact that many of our best show cattle come from among these so-called plainly bred sorts we must admit that there is something wrong with our method of estimating the value of pedigrees. The sooner we recognize the fact that good breeding is good breeding, no 'matter where it is found, the better it will be for the breed. '
But, Asteroid would be a good name for an Asterix bull.
The post was:
I read this in an article in thar 1921 Shorthorns in America magazine.
I did not realize that animals could be bred up into the Coates Herd book, or how that system worked. I believe the author is in Canada.
“PLAINLY BRED"
In Great Britain a man can start with a grade Shorthorn cow and after using purebred bulls for four generations he can record her female descendants in Coates‘ Herd Book. A fifth cross makes her male descendants eligible for registration. These cattle are accepted for registration in our Dominion Herd Book, but our rules will not admit cattle so graded up in this country.Canadian bred cattle must have both sire and dam recorded before they are eligible for registration. This is a safe rule, but there is something strange about our method of valuing cattle bred in our own country.
For example. a cow which is only five or six generations removed from a grade Shorthorn female ancestor is brought to this country from Scotland. She is accepted for registration in our herd book. and since the grading up process has been performed in Scotland, she is said to be of straight Scotch breeding. So far we have no fault to find- Then, suppose we havc a cow with a pedigree like that of Myrtle Beau. This cow has five practically straight Scotch bulls at the top of her pedigree, or just as many as the other cow has, but instead of terminating in a grade cow like that of the other, it runs back through eight more generations of recorded ancestors to the imported cow Lily, who also has recorded ancestors back of her. Which of these two cows is the better bred? the Scotch cow with five Scotch crosses on a grade foundation, or the Canadian cow with five Scotch crosses on a. foundation which runs back through nine or ten generations of recorded ancestors?
Surely the Canadian cow is better bred than the other, if the bulls appearing in her pedigree are nearly the equal of the bulls in the other. Let us assume that the five Scotch bulls appearing in each pedigree are equal in merit, and let these two cows be put through an auction sale. The imported cow will outsell the other by long odds, even though she may not be so good an individual. Ask the reason, and you will be told that the one is straight Scotch and the other is “plainly bred." If either cow is plainly bred surely it is the imported one, but so popular is Scotch breeding that the short-pedigreed Scotch cow is quite acceptable, while the other is discounted because she does not trace to Scotland in all her blood lines. When we consider the fact that many of our best show cattle come from among these so-called plainly bred sorts we must admit that there is something wrong with our method of estimating the value of pedigrees. The sooner we recognize the fact that good breeding is good breeding, no 'matter where it is found, the better it will be for the breed. '
