Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 67.djvu/214

208 much attention should be given to pedigrees; for even when individual excellence is not apparent, it may be present in a recessive or else in a latent state, which suitable matings will bring into full realization, provided the ancestors were superior animals.

At the same time the breeder should be on the lookout for individual peculiarities of merit. And he should not be discouraged if these are not transmitted to the immediate offspring. Ordinarily a desirable character which disappears from the children, but reappears among the grandchildren, can at once be made a racial character, for it is recessive in heredity.

Inbreeding is not invariably an evil. It is often necessary to cause the reappearance of a vanished recessive character, and is indispensable in the formation of races which will breed true. Two or three generations of close inbreeding usually suffice to realize the practical benefits of the process, if intelligently carried on. The inbreeding should then be discontinued as soon as the desired end has been attained. Otherwise, loss of vigor or infertility may result.