th part as
much.

Let us suppose two farmers to need a bull; they go to seek and two are
offered, both two years old, of similar color, form and general
appearance. One is offered for twenty dollars--for the other a hundred
is demanded. Satisfactory evidence is offered that the latter is no
better than any or all of its ancestors for many generations back on
both sides, or than its kindred--that it is of a pure and distinct
breed, that it possesses certain well known hereditary qualities, that
it is suited for a definite purpose, it may be a Short-horn, noted for
large size and early maturity, it may be a Devon, of fine color and
symmetry, active and hardy, it may be an Ayrshire, noted for dairy
qualities, or of some other definite breed, whose uses, excellencies
and deficiencies are all well known.

The other is of no breed whatever, perhaps it is called a grade or a
cross. The man who bred it had rather confused ideas, so far as he had
any, about breeding, and thought to combine all sorts of good
qualities in one animal, and so he worked in a little grade Durham,
or Hereford to get size, and a little Ayrshire for milk, and a little
Devon for color, and so on, using perhaps dams sired by a bull in the
neighborhood which had also got some "Whitten"[1] or "Peter Waldo"
calves, (though none of these showed it,) at any rate he wanted some
of the "native" element in his stock, because it was tough, and some
folks thought natives were the best after all. Among its ancestors and
kindred were some good and some not good, some large and some small,
some well favored and fat, some ill favored and lean, some profitable
and some profitless. The animal now offered is a great deal better
than the average of them. It looks for aught they can see, about as
well as the one for which five times his price is asked. Perhaps he
served forty cows last year and brought his owner as many quarters,
while the other only served five and brought an income of but five
dollars. The question arises, which is the better bargain? After
pondering the matter, one buys the low-priced and the other the
high-priced one, both being well satisfied in their own minds.

What did results show? The low-priced one served that season perhaps a
hundred cows; more than ought to have done so, came a second
time;--having been overtasked as a yearling, he lacked somewhat of
vigor. The calves came _of all sorts_, some good, some poor, a few
like the sire, more like