LINE BREEDING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 31 January 1939, Page 8

LINE BREEDING

INTENSIFICATION OF QUALITIES

THOROUGH OBSERVATION ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS STRONG AND WEAK POINTS There are two schools of thought in regard to line-breeding—one school strongly favours it while the other as enthusiastically condemns it. Line-breeding intensifies all qualities, both good and bad, seen and unseen, so that the recessive, hidden, or lament quaiities of the parents may become the dominant or leading factors of the successive generations. This, of coursefi may be either an advantage or a disadvantage, according to the skilful observation of the man controlling the plans (says the Napier “Telegraph”). Some breeders teach that the function of line-breeding is to produce prepotent sires. It does this, but it will also produce females that are prepotent enough to dominate sires that are not line-bred. Other people maintain that line-breeding results in a loss in size or vigour or in similar defects. This need not be so. The work of Mr J. T. Cole provides us with a classical example of the great value of line-breeding when skilfully observed. By it he was able to commence with cows which probably did not yield more than 3001 b butterfat per year, yet ultimately, and without the introduction of any fresh blood, he was able to produce several cows that produced 10001 b of butterfat per year. This serves to show the great possibilities of line-breeding when properly carried out. Line-breeding leads to a saturation of the desired family strain or blood line, and consequently to a concentration of the qualities of production and conformation. It is essential that we insist on giving preference to quality, rather than the desire merely for a line bred pedigree. This suggests vigorous culling if it is necessary to retain the best qualities. Thus we must not hesitate to cull anything that does not represent a definite advance in all the points of our breeding programme. MUST BE OBSERVANT In order to achieve success in linebreeding, a very keen observation is necessary to detect every quality, whether good or bad, the latter always being corrected promptly before damage is done. All this demands that innate gift which marks the master breeder. The choice of the best foundation cows to commence line-breeding is a point of prime importance, because they must be chosen for qualities, both visual and unseen, e.g., good general conformation to all recognised breeding points, good udders free from fleshiness, but with good attachment in front and at the rear, good teats well placed and easy to milk.

It is desirable to have a healthy long-lived cow to stand up to the strain of years of heavy milking. The qualities not seen are equally important; fecundity, the ability to breed regularly and produce a healthy calf, the possession of a good digestive capacity, heavy butterfat production, milk with a high butterfat content and a good calm disposition. Obviously it will be difficult to get all these qualities in even a limited number of animals which are neces-

sary to commence a system of linebreeding. Nevertheless, we must have all thesee good points without any defects, otherwise our breeding plan will soon result in failure, because, as belore stated, we must not be surmised to find that faults, as well as tht strong points, will be intensified

as we pursue line-breeding. The failure to recognise the above important fact has led many people to abandon line-breeding as being a failure. when actually the fault was their own, because they did not pay sufficient attention to defects in their foundation

animals. Other breeders fail because they allow sentiment to blind their judgment, and consequently refuse to see the defects that are so obvious; hence they use animals which defeat the object in view.