THE BRUCE LOWE SYSTEM.

NZ Truth, Issue 811, 28 May 1921, Page 11

THE BRUCE LOWE SYSTEM.

The "Australasian" haa just published a controversy between its blood-stock expert and Mr. W. Reid, 'as to the merits of the figure system m breeding raceMr. Reid attacks 'the system by taking the case of human beings. He says that. If a white woman married a Chinaman, and had a daughter, which married a Jap, and that this daughter's child married a nigger, the resultant offspring would, under the figure system, retain the number of the white woman, 'though it had only one strain by white blood to three strains of color. True, but this is an argument m favor of th,e figure system because the figure would indicate the white element m the pedigree; and m a country where everybody was black, tan, or brlndle, the figure system would indicate the one with some white blood, and thereby act as a guide to anyone wishing to get hold of the best individual. A similar objection to the figure system is made' by those who say that a numbero'ne blood mare might have a mule foal by a donkey, and that this mule would b 6 a number one under the figure system. So it would, and should beat any other mule; so even m these extreme cases, the figure system is a guide. To put it as briefly as possible, the figure system means that all' descendants of a mare take the number of that mare, Just as m human beings all descendants of a "man take his surname. In human beings the surname is not much of a guide, though It is not altogether without merit For instance, if any one wanted a fighting man he would sooner choose a man named Dempsey or Sullivan than one named Guttenhelmer. With the racehorses- the figure system is a very valuable guide, because a look at a numbered pedigree will show at once how many

really first-class relatives an animal has. It is not contended that the figure system is infallible. No system is infallible, as is proved by the fact that full brothers are so often utterly different m merit; but the figure system is a great help m a breeder, and buyers of horses find it a very useful guide m deciding what to try when there is a difficulty m choosing between two. animals.