PEDIGREE AND UTILITY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1726, 29 March 1905, Page 63

PEDIGREE AND UTILITY.

The "registration system has been long enough in vogue in this country, says London ‘■Field/’ for its merits and demerits to he fully understood. The former, at all events, have been so widely and so emphatically marked that it is scarcely conceivable that there can be any stockowner ignorant of, although some are blind to, the incalculable benefits that have resulted to stockbreeding pursuits from the extensive operation of the registration system. It is not too much to say that it is to it that the fixity of type and impressiveness of influence that constitute such notable features of our principal breeds are to be traced. It may be argued that many of our breads had assumed their distinctive features and characteristics before the breed registers were instituted or thought of; but, although this is literally correct, the same principle that underlies the elaborate registration system of the present time was in force in the days of the pioneer breeders, though, of course, in a primitive sort of way. There were no general registers a century ago, and compartively few half a century later, while private herd, flock, or stud hooks were not very plentiful; yet the inestimable work of the early improvers of the several breeds was based upon, and rendered effectual by, strict observance of the pedigree principle. A consultation of the written records of the operations of such p-ioneers in ’stockbreeding as the brothers Codings, for instance, leaves' no room for doubt as to their ■firm belief in the virtue and power of heredity. They had no breed register to guide them, but it is clear that heredity was the agent by which the characteristics of the cosmopolitan breed of cattle have been moulded and fixed, and so it is with all the other varieties.

■While the vital forces of conserved heredity are indispensable in the breeding of high-class live stock, however, it is important to bear in mind that they are fraught with danger to the ultimate welfare of the breed if they are not prudently utilised and controlled. Many of our oldest breeds bear traces of the evil effects of the powers of pedigree run wild, and in some cases it is not an easy matter to rectify the mischief, for the reason that the scope of the field for selection of replenishing material is too limited. The source of danger is excessive inbreeding, and the forms in which it manifests itself are impaired constitutions and inability to respond generously to liberal treatment ; in other words, as a result of over trust in pedigree we get greater certainty in adherence to type, but at the cost of general utility. Benefiting by past experiences, stockbreeders of to-day are not likely to willingly repeat the errors of former generations in concentrating their attentions upon pedigree, and in the cases of such popular and widely distributed breeds as Shorthorn cattle and Shire horses there is remote danger of, and no excuse for, a recurrence of the indiscretions of a quarter of a century ago. The choice of fresh blood within the wide limits of the breed registers is ample to enable breeders to preserve constitutional vig-

cur and utility in prudent harmony with fixity of type. It is not so easy for owners of the less extensively-bred varieties to avoid the error referred to, however, for, even if they are fully cognisant of the evils of excessive inbreeding, they sometimes find themselves helpless in preventing them owing to the limited choice in the way of fresh strains that is available. They perceive the need of fresh blood, but they have no means of procuring it without transgressing th.e rules of the breed register, and in consequence the breed is in grave danger of decay accordingly. In cases of this kind the question arises as to whether it would not he expedient and wise to preserve a certain degree of freedom in introducing fresh, strains from unregistered sources. The Cheviot Sheep Society has decided to entrust its council with discretionary powers in this respect, on the ground that the field of choice within registered circles is too restricted to ensure the preservation of utility properties, and it might be a good thing for several other breeds if this example were considerably extended.