file was produced from images produced by ,core ,historical ,literature in ,agriculture 7,,chla71 ,cornell ,university7 99 99 99 99 99 ---------------------------------------- ------------------- ,transcriber's ,note3 ,inconsistent hyphenation and unusual spelling in the original document have been preserved4 ,obvious typographical errors have been corrected4 ,for a complete list1 please see the end of this document4 ,note that 'neat cattle' does not refer to cattle that dress nicely1 nor is it a typo4 ,neat cattle are domesticated straight-backed animals of the bovine genus4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------- 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,principles ,,of ,,breeding3 ,,or1 ,,glimpses ,,at ,,the ,,physiological ,,laws ,,involved ,,in ,,the ,,reproduction ,,and ,,improvement ,,of ,,domestic ,,animals4 ,,by ,s4,l4 ,,goodale1 ,,secretary ,,of ,,the ,,maine ,,board ,,of ,,agriculture4 ,,boston3 ,,crosby1 ,,nichols1 ,,lee ,,and ,,company1 #aag ,,washington ,,st4 #ahfa4 ,entered according to ,act of ,congress1 in the year #ahfa1 ,,by ,,stephen ,l4 ,,goodale1 ,in the ,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court of the ,district of ,maine4 ,press of ,stevens ,sayward1 ,augusta1 ,maine4 ,,preface4 ,the writer has had frequent occasion to notice the want of some handy book embodying the principles necessary to be understood in order to secure improvement in ,domestic ,animals4 ,it has been his aim to supply this want4 ,in doing so he has availed himself freely of the knowledge supplied by others1 the aim being to furnish a useful1 rather than an original book4 ,if it serve in any measure to supply the need1 and to awaken greater interest upon a matter of vital importance to the agricultural interests of the country1 the writer's purpose will be accomplished4 ,,contents4 ,,page4 ,,chapter ,i4--,,introductory1 #g ,,ii4--,,law ,,of ,,similarity1 #ba ,,iii4--,,law ,,of ,,variation1 #cc ,,iv4--,,atavism ,,or ,,ancestral ,,influence1 #fa ,v4--,,relative ,,influence ,,of ,,the ,,parents1 #fh ,,vi4--,,law ,,of ,,sex1 #hi ,,vii4--,,in-,,and-,,in ,,breeding1 #id ,,viii4--,,crossing1 #aje ,,ix4--,,breeding ,,in ,,the ,,line1 #aai ,x4--,,characteristics ,,of ,,breeds1 #abg ,,the ,,principles ,,of ,,breeding4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,introductory4 ,the object of the husbandman1 like that of men engaged in other avocations1 is profit2 and like other men the farmer may expect success proportionate to the skill1 care1 judgment and perseverance with which his operations are conducted4 ,the better policy of farmers generally1 is to make stock husbandry in some one or more of its departments a leading aim--that is to say1 while they shape their operations according to the circumstances in which they are situated1 these should steadily embrace the conversion of a large proportion of the crops grown into animal products1--and this because1 by so doing1 they may not only secure a present livelihood1 but best maintain and increase the fertility of their lands4 ,the object of the stock grower is to obtain the most valuable returns from his vegetable products4 ,he needs1 as ,bakewell happily expressed it1 the best machine for converting herbage and other animal food into money4 ,he will therefore do well to seek such animals as are most perfect of their kind--such as will pay best for the expense of procuring the machinery1 for the care and attention bestowed1 and for the consumption of raw material4 ,the returns come in various forms4 ,they may or may not be connected with the ultimate value of the animal4 ,in the beef ox and the mutton sheep1 they are so connected to a large extent2 in the dairy cow and the fine wooled sheep1 this is quite a secondary consideration2--in the horse1 valued as he is for beauty1 speed and draught1 it is not thought of at all4 ,not only is there a wide range of field for operations1 from which the stock grower may select his own path of procedure1 but there is a demand that his attention be directed with a definite aim1 and towards an end clearly apprehended4 ,the first question to be answered1 is1 what do we want8 and the next1 how shall we get it8 ,what we want1 depends wholly upon our situation and surroundings1 and each must answer it for himself4 ,in ,england the problem to be solved by the breeder of neat cattle and sheep is how to produce an animal or a living machine which with a certain quantity and quality of food1 and under certain given circumstances1 shall yield in the shortest time the largest quantity and best quality of beef1 mutton or milk1 with the largest profit to the producer and at least cost to the consumer4 ,but this is not precisely the problem for ,american farmers to solve1 because our circumstances are different4 ,few1 if any1 here grow oxen for beef alone1 but for labor and beef1 so that earliest possible maturity may be omitted and a year or more of labor profitably intervene before conversion to beef4 ,many cultivators of sheep1 too1 are so situated as to prefer fine wool1 which is incompatible with the largest quantity and best quality of meat4 ,others differently situated in regard to a meat market would do well to follow the ,english practice and aim at the most profitable production of mutton4 ,a great many farmers1 not only of those in the vicinity of large towns1 but of those at some distance1 might1 beyond doubt1 cultivate dairy qualities in cows1 to great advantage1 and this too1 even1 if necessary1 at the sacrifice1 to considerable extent1 of beef making qualities4 ,as a general thing dairy qualities have been sadly neglected in years past4 ,whatever may be the object in view1 it should be clearly apprehended1 and striven for with persistent and well directed efforts4 ,to buy or breed common animals of mixed qualities and use them for any and for all purposes is too much like a manufacturer of cloth procuring some carding1 spinning and weaving machinery1 adapted to no particular purpose but which can somehow be used for any1 and attempting to make fabrics of cotton1 of wool1 and of linen with it4 ,i do not say that cloth would not be produced1 but he would assuredly be slow in getting rich by it4 ,the stock grower needs not only to have a clear and definite aim in view1 but also to understand the means by which it may best be accomplished4 ,among these means a knowledge of the principles of breeding holds a prominent place1 and this is not of very easy acquisition by the mass of farmers4 ,the experience of any one man would go but a little way towards acquiring it1 and there has not been much published on the subject in any form within the reach of most4 ,i have been able to find nothing like an extended systematic treatise on the subject1 either among our own or the foreign agricultural literature which has come within my notice4 ,indeed1 from the scantiness of what appears to have been written1 coupled with the fact that much knowledge must exist somewhere1 one is tempted to believe that not all which might have done so1 has yet found its way to printers' ink4 ,that a great deal has been acquired1 we know1 as we know a tree--by its fruits4 ,that immense achievements have been accomplished is beyond doubt4 ,the improvement of the domestic animals of a country so as greatly to enhance their individual and aggregate value1 and to render the rearing of them more profitable to all concerned1 is surely one of the achievements of advanced civilization and enlightenment1 and is as much a triumph of science and skill as the construction of a railroad1 a steamship1 an electric telegraph1 or any work of architecture4 ,if any doubt this1 let them ponder the history of those breeds of animals which have made ,england the stock nursery of the world1 the perfection of which enables her to export thousands of animals at prices almost fabulously beyond their value for any purpose but to propagate their kind2 let them note the patient industry1 the genius and application which have been put forth to bring them to the condition they have attained1 and their doubts must cease4 ,robert ,bakewell of ,dishley1 was one of the first of these improvers4 ,let us stop for a moment's glance at him4 ,born in #agbe1 on the farm where his father and grandfather had been tenants1 he began at the age of thirty to carry out the plans for the improvement of domestic animals upon which he had resolved as the result of long and patient study and reflection4 ,he was a man of genius1 energy and perseverance4 ,with sagacity to conceive and fortitude to perfect his designs1 he laid his plans and struggled against many disappointments1 amid the ridicule and predictions of failure freely bestowed by his neighbors1--often against serious pecuniary embarrassments2 and at last was crowned by a wonderful degree of success4 ,when he commenced letting his rams1 7a system first introduced by him and adhered to during his life1 in place of selling17 they brought him #ags4 #f;d4 each1 for the season4 ,this was ten years after he commenced his improvements4 ,soon the price came to a guinea1 then to two or three guineas--rapidly increasing with the reputation of his stock1 until in #aghd1 they brought him #ajj guineas each6 ,five years later his lettings for one season amounted to #cj1jjj6 ,with all his skill and success he seemed afraid lest others might profit by the knowledge he had so laboriously acquired4 ,he put no pen to paper and at death left not even the slightest memorandum throwing light upon his operations1 and it is chiefly through his cotemporaries1 who gathered somewhat from verbal communications1 that we know anything regarding them4 ,from these we learn that he formed an ideal standard in his own mind and then endeavored1 first by a wide selection and a judicious and discriminating coupling1 to obtain the type desired1 and then by close breeding1 connected with rigorous weeding out1 to perpetuate and fix it4 ,after him came a host of others1 not all of whom concealed their light beneath a bushel4 ,by long continued and extensive observation1 resulting in the collection of numerous facts1 and by the collation of these facts of nature1 by scientific research and practical experiments1 certain physiological laws have been discovered1 and principles of breeding have been deduced and established4 ,it is true that some of these laws are as yet hidden from us1 and much regarding them is but imperfectly understood4 ,what we do not know is a deal more than what we do know1 but to ignore so much as has been discovered1 and is well established1 and can be learned by any who care to do so1 and to go on regardless of it1 would indicate a degree of wisdom in the breeder on a par with that of a builder who should fasten together wood and iron just as the pieces happened to come to his hand1 regardless of the laws of architecture1 and expect a convenient house or a fast sailing ship to be the result of his labors4 ,is not the usual course of procedure among many farmers too nearly parallel to the case supposed8 ,let the ill-favored1 chance-bred1 mongrel beasts in their barn yards testify4 ,the truth is1 and it is of no use to deny or disguise the fact1 the improvement of domestic animals is one of the most important and to a large extent1 one of the most neglected branches of rural economy4 ,the fault is not that farmers do not keep stock enough1 much oftener they keep more than they can feed to the most profitable point1 and when a short crop of hay comes1 there is serious difficulty in supporting them1 or in selling them at a paying price2 but the great majority neither bestow proper care upon the selection of animals for breeding1 nor do they appreciate the dollars and cents difference between such as are profitable and such as are profitless4 ,how many will hesitate or refuse to pay a dollar for the services of a good bull when some sort of a calf can be begotten for a quarter8 and this too when one by the good male would be worth a dollar more for veal and ten or twenty dollars more when grown to a cow or an ox8 ,how few will hesitate or refuse to allow to a butcher the cull of his calves and lambs for a few extra shillings1 and this when the butcher's difference in shillings would soon1 were the best kept and the worst sold1 grow into as many dollars and more8 ,how many there are who esteem size to be of more consequence than symmetry1 or adaptation to the use for which they are kept8 ,how many ever sit down to calculate the difference in money value between an animal which barely pays for keeping1 or perhaps not that1 and one which pays a profit8 ,let us reckon a little4 ,suppose a man wishes to buy a cow4 ,two are offered him1 both four years old1 and which might probably be serviceable for ten years to come4 ,with the same food and attendance the first will yield for ten months in the year1 an average of five quarts per day1--and the other for the same term will yield seven quarts and of equal quality4 ,what is the comparative value of each8 ,the difference in yield is six hundred quarts per annum4 ,for the purpose of this calculation we will suppose it worth three cents per quart--amounting to eighteen dollars4 ,is not the second cow1 while she holds out to give it1 as good as the first1 and three hundred dollars at interest besides8 ,if the first just pays for her food and attendance1 the second1 yielding two-fifths more1 pays forty per cent4 profit annually2 and yet how many farmers having two such cows for sale would make more than ten1 or twenty1 or at most1 thirty dollars difference in the price8 ,the profit from one is eighteen dollars a year--in ten years one hundred and eighty dollars1 besides the annual accumulations of interest--the profit of the other is--nothing4 ,if the seller has need to keep one1 would he not be wiser to give away the first1 than to part with the second for a hundred dollars8 ,suppose again1 that an acre of grass or a ton of hay costs five dollars1 and that for its consumption by a given set of animals1 the farmer gets a return of five dollars worth of labor1 or meat1 or wool1 or milk4 ,he is selling his crop at cost1 and makes no profit4 ,suppose by employing other animals1 better horses1 better cows1 oxen and sheep1 he can get ten dollars per ton in returns4 ,how much are the latter worth more than the former8 ,have they not doubled the value of the crops1 and increased the profit of farming from nothing to a hundred per cent8 ,except that the manure is not doubled1 and the animals would some day need to be replaced1 could he not as well afford to give the price of his farm for one set as to accept the other as a gift8 ,among many1 who are in fact ignorant of what goes to constitute merit in a breeding animal1 there is an inclination to treat as imaginary and unreal the higher values placed upon well-bred animals over those of mixed origin1 unless they are larger and handsomer in proportion to the price demanded4 ,the sums paid for qualities which are not at once apparent to the eye are stigmatized as fancy prices4 ,it is not denied that fancy prices are sometimes1 perhaps often paid1 for there are probably few who are not willing occasionally to pay dearly for what merely pleases them1 aside from any other merit commensurate to the price4 ,but1 on the other hand1 it is fully as true that great intrinsic value for breeding purposes may exist in an animal and yet make very little show4 ,such an one may not even look so well to a casual observer1 as a grade1 or cross-bred animal1 which although valuable as an individual1 is not1 for breeding purposes1 worth a tenth part as much4 ,let us suppose two farmers to need a bull2 they go to seek and two are offered1 both two years old1 of similar color1 form and general appearance4 ,one is offered for twenty dollars--for the other a hundred is demanded4 ,satisfactory evidence is offered that the latter is no better than any or all of its ancestors for many generations back on both sides1 or than its kindred--that it is of a pure and distinct breed1 that it possesses certain well known hereditary qualities1 that it is suited for a definite purpose1 it may be a ,short-horn1 noted for large size and early maturity1 it may be a ,devon1 of fine color and symmetry1 active and hardy1 it may be an ,ayrshire1 noted for dairy qualities1 or of some other definite breed1 whose uses1 excellencies and deficiencies are all well known4 ,the other is of no breed whatever1 perhaps it is called a grade or a cross4 ,the man who bred it had rather confused ideas1 so far as he had any1 about breeding1 and thought to combine all sorts of good qualities in one animal1 and so he worked in a little grade ,durham1 or ,hereford to get size1 and a little ,ayrshire for milk1 and a little ,devon for color1 and so on1 using perhaps dams sired by a bull in the neighborhood which had also got some ,whitten#a or ,peter ,waldo calves1 7though none of these showed it17 at any rate he wanted some of the native element in his stock1 because it was tough1 and some folks thought natives were the best after all4 ,among its ancestors and kindred were some good and some not good1 some large and some small1 some well favored and fat1 some ill favored and lean1 some profitable and some profitless4 ,the animal now offered is a great deal better than the average of them4 ,it looks for aught they can see1 about as well as the one for which five times his price is asked4 ,perhaps he served forty cows last year and brought his owner as many quarters1 while the other only served five and brought an income of but five dollars4 ,the question arises1 which is the better bargain8 ,after pondering the matter1 one buys the low-priced and the other the high-priced one1 both being well satisfied in their own minds4 ,what did results show8 ,the low-priced one served that season perhaps a hundred cows2 more than ought to have done so1 came a second time2--having been overtasked as a yearling1 he lacked somewhat of vigor4 ,the calves came of all sorts1 some good1 some poor1 a few like the sire1 more like the dams--all mongrels and showing mongrel origin more than he did4 ,there seemed in many of them a tendency to combine the defects of the grades from which he sprung rather than their good points4 ,in some1 the quietness of the ,short-horn degenerated into stupidity1 and in others the activity of the ,devon into nervous viciousness4 ,take them together they perhaps paid for rearing1 or nearly so4 ,after using him another year1 he was killed1 having been used long enough4 ,the other1 we will say1 served that same season a reasonable number1 perhaps four to six in a week1 or one every day1 not more4 ,few came a second time and those for no fault of his4 ,the calves bear a striking resemblance to the sire4 ,some from the better cows look even better in some points1 than himself and few much worse4 ,there is a remarkable uniformity among them2 as they grow up they thrive better than those by the low priced one4 ,they prove better adapted to the use intended4 ,on the whole they are quite satisfactory and each pays annually in its growth1 labor or milk a profit over the cost of food and attendance of five or ten dollars or more4 ,if worked enough to furnish the exercise needful to insure vigorous health1 he may be as serviceable and as manageable at eight or ten years old1 as at two2 meantime he has got1 perhaps1 five hundred calves1 which in due time become worth ten or twenty dollars each more than those from the other4 ,which now seems the wiser purchase8 ,was the higher estimate placed on the well bred animal based upon fancy or upon intrinsic value8 ,the conviction that a better knowledge of the principles of breeding would render our system of agriculture more profitable1 and the hope of contributing somewhat to this end1 have induced the attempt to set forth some of the physiological principles involved in the reproduction of domestic animals1 or in other words1 the laws which govern hereditary transmission4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,local names for lyery1 or black fleshed cattle4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,similarity4 ,the first and most important of the laws to be considered in this connection is that of ,,similarity4 ,it is by virtue of this law that the peculiar characters1 qualities and properties of the parents1 whether external or internal1 good or bad1 healthy or diseased1 are transmitted to their offspring4 ,this is one of the plainest and most certain of the laws of nature4 ,children resemble their parents1 and they do so because these are hereditary4 ,the law is constant4 ,within certain limits progeny always and every where resemble their parents4 ,if this were not so1 there would be no constancy of species1 and a horse might beget a calf or a sow have a litter of puppies1 which is never the case1--for in all time we find repeated in the offspring the structure1 the instincts and all the general characteristics of the parents1 and never those of another species4 ,such is the law of nature and hence the axiom that like produces like4 ,but while experience teaches the constancy of hereditary transmission1 it teaches just as plainly that the constancy is not absolute and perfect1 and this introduces us to another law1 viz3 that of variation1 which will be considered by and by2 our present concern is to ascertain what we can of the law of similarity4 ,the lesson which this law teaches might be stated in five words1 to wit3 ,breed only from the best--but the teaching may be more impressive1 and will more likely be heeded1 if we understand the extent and scope of the law4 ,facts in abundance show the hereditary tendency of physical1 mental and moral qualities in men1 and very few would hesitate to admit that the external form and general characteristics of parents descend to children in both the human and brute races2 but not all are aware that this law reaches to such minute particulars as facts show to be the case4 ,we see hereditary transmission of a peculiar type upon an extensive scale1 in some of the distinct races1 the ,jews1 and the ,gypsies1 for example4 ,although exposed for centuries to the modifying influences of diverse climates1 to association with peoples of widely differing customs and habits1 they never merge their peculiarities in those of any people with whom they dwell1 but continue distinct4 ,they retain the same features1 the same figures1 the same manners1 customs and habits4 ,the ,jew in ,poland1 in ,austria1 in ,london1 or in ,new ,york1 is the same2 and the money-changers of the ,temple at ,jerusalem in the time of our ,lord may be seen to-day on change in any of the larger marts of trade4 ,how is this8 ,just because the ,jew is a thorough-bred4 ,there is with him no intermarriage with the ,gentile--no crossing1 no mingling of his organization with that of another4 ,when this ensues permanence of race will cease and give place to variations of any or of all sorts4 ,some families are remarkable during long periods for tall and handsome figures and striking regularity of features1 while in others a less perfect form1 or some peculiar deformity reappears with equal constancy4 ,a family in ,yorkshire is known for several generations to have been furnished with six fingers and toes4 ,a family possessing the same peculiarity resides in the valley of the ,kennebec1 and the same has reappeared in one or more other families connected with it by marriage4 ,the thick upper lip of the imperial house of ,austria1 introduced by the marriage of the ,emperor ,maximillian with ,mary of ,burgundy1 has been a marked feature in that family for hundreds of years1 and is1 visible in their descendants to this day4 ,equally noticeable is the ,bourbon nose in the former reigning family of ,france4 ,all the ,barons de ,vessins had a peculiar mark between their shoulders1 and it is said that by means of it a posthumous son of a late ,baron de ,vessins was discovered in a ,london shoemaker's apprentice4 ,haller cites the case of a family where an external tumor was transmitted from father to son which always swelled when the atmosphere was moist4 ,a remarkable example of a singular organic peculiarity and of its transmission to descendants1 is furnished in the case of the ,english family of ,porcupine men1 so called from having all the body except the head and face1 and the soles and palms1 covered with hard dark-colored excrescences of a horny nature4 ,the first of these was ,edward ,lambert1 born in ,suffolk in #agah1 and exhibited before the ,royal ,society when fourteen years of age4 ,the other children of his parents were naturally formed2 and ,edward1 aside from this peculiarity1 was good looking and enjoyed good health4 ,he afterward had six children1 all of whom inherited the same formation1 as did also several grand-children4 ,numerous instances are on record tending to show that even accidents do sometimes1 although not usually1 become hereditary4 ,blumenbach mentions the case of a man whose little finger was crushed and twisted by an accident to his right hand4 ,his sons inherited right hands with the little finger distorted4 ,a bitch had her hinder parts paralyzed for some days by a blow4 ,six of her seven pups were deformed1 or so weak in their hinder parts that they were drowned as useless4 ,a pregnant cat got her tail injured2 in each of her five kittens the tail was distorted1 and had an enlargement or knob near the end of each4 ,horses marked during successive generations with red-hot irons in the same place1 transmit visible traces of such marks to their colts4 ,very curious are the facts which go to show that acquired habits sometimes become hereditary4 ,pritchard1 in his ,natural ,history of ,man1 says that the horses bred on the table lands of the ,cordilleras are carefully taught a peculiar pace which is a sort of running amble2 that after a few generations this pace becomes a natural one2 young untrained horses adopting it without compulsion4 ,but a still more curious fact is1 that if these domesticated stallions breed with mares of the wild herd1 which abound in the surrounding plains1 they become the sires of a race in which the ambling pace is natural and requires no teaching4 ,mr4 ,t4,a4 ,knight1 in a paper read before the ,royal ,society1 says1 the hereditary propensities of the offspring of ,norwegian ponies1 whether full or half-bred1 are very singular4 ,their ancestors have been in the habit of obeying the voice of their riders and not the bridle2 and horse-breakers complain that it is impossible to produce this last habit in the young colts4 ,they are1 however1 exceedingly docile and obedient when they understand the commands of their masters4 ,a late writer in one of the foreign journals1 says that he had a pup taken from its mother at six weeks old1 who although never taught to 'beg' 7an accomplishment his mother had been taught7 spontaneously took to begging for every thing he wanted when about seven or eight months old2 he would beg for food1 beg to be let out of the room1 and one day was found opposite a rabbit hutch apparently begging the rabbits to come and play4 ,if even in such minute particulars as these1 hereditary transmission may be distinctly seen1 it becomes the breeder to look closely to the like which he wishes to see reproduced4 ,judicious selection is indispensable to success in breeding1 and this should have regard to every particular--general appearance1 length of limb1 shape of carcass1 development of chest2 if in cattle1 the size1 shape and position of udder1 thickness of skin1 touch1 length and texture of hair1 docility1 c41 c42 if in horses1 their adaptation to any special excellence depending on form1 or temperament1 or nervous energy4 ,not only should care be taken to avoid structural defects1 but especially to secure freedom from hereditary diseases1 as both defects and diseases appear to be more easily transmissible than desirable qualities4 ,there is often no obvious peculiarity of structure1 or appearance1 indicating the possession of diseases or defects which are transmissible1 and so1 special care and continued acquaintance are necessary in order to be assured of their absence in breeding animals2 but such a tendency although invisible or inappreciable to cursory observation1 must still1 judging from its effects1 have as real and certain an existence1 as any peculiarity of form or color4 ,every one who believes that a disease may be hereditary at all1 must admit that certain individuals possess certain tendencies which render them especially liable to certain diseases1 as consumption or scrofula2 yet it is not easy to say precisely in what this predisposition consists4 ,it seems probable1 however1 that it may be due either to some want of harmony between different organs1 some faulty formation or combination of parts1 or to some peculiar physical or chemical condition of the blood or tissues2 and that this altered state1 constituting the inherent congenital tendency to the disease1 is duly transmitted from parent to offspring like any other quality more readily apparent to observation4 ,hereditary diseases exhibit certain eminently characteristic phenomena1 which a late writer#b enumerates as follows3 #a4 ,they are transmitted by the male as well as by the female parent1 and are doubly severe in the offspring of parents both of which are affected by them4 #b4 ,they develop themselves not only in the immediate progeny of one affected by them1 but also in many subsequent generations4 #c4 ,they do not1 however1 always appear in each generation in the same form2 one disease is sometimes substituted for another1 analogous to it1 and this again after some generations becomes changed into that to which the breed was originally liable--as phthisis 7consumption7 and dysentery4 ,thus1 a stock of cattle previously subject to phthisis1 sometimes become affected for several generations with dysentery to the exclusion of phthisis1 but by and by1 dysentery disappears to give place to phthisis4 #d4 ,hereditary diseases occur to a certain extent independently of external circumstances2 appearing under all sorts of management1 and being little affected by changes of locality1 separation from diseased stock1 or such causes as modify the production of non-hereditary diseases4 #e4 ,they are1 however1 most certainly and speedily developed in circumstances inimical to general good health1 and often occur at certain1 so called1 critical periods of life1 when unusual demands on the vital powers take place4 #f4 ,they show a striking tendency to modify and absorb into themselves all extraneous diseases2 for example1 in an animal of consumptive constitution1 pneumonia seldom runs its ordinary course1 and when arrested1 often passes into consumption4 #g4 ,hereditary diseases are less effectually treated by ordinary remedies than other diseases4 ,thus1 although an attack of phthisis1 rheumatism or opthalmia may be subdued1 and the patient put out of pain and danger1 the tendency to the disease will still remain and be greatly aggravated by each attack4 ,in horses and neat cattle1 hereditary diseases do not usually show themselves at birth1 and sometimes the tendency remains latent for many years1 perhaps through one or two generations and afterwards breaks out with all its former severity4 ,the diseases which are found to be hereditary in horses are scrofula1 rheumatism1 rickets1 chronic cough1 roaring1 ophthalmia or inflammation of the eye1--grease or scratches1 bone spavin1 curb1 c4 ,indeed1 ,youatt says1 there is scarcely a malady to which the horse is subject1 that is not hereditary4 ,contracted feet1 curb1 spavin1 roaring1 thick wind1 blindness1 notoriously descend from the sire or dam to the foal4 ,the diseases which are found hereditary in neat cattle are scrofula1 consumption1 dysentery1 diarrhea1 rheumatism and malignant tumors4 ,neat cattle being less exposed to the exciting causes of disease1 and less liable to be overtasked or exposed to violent changes of temperature1 or otherwise put in jeopardy1 their diseases are not so numerous1 and what they have are less violent than in the horse1 and generally of a chronic character4 ,scrofula is not uncommon among sheep1 and it presents itself in various forms4 ,sometimes it is connected with consumption2 sometimes it affects the viscera of the abdomen1 and particularly the mesenteric glands in a manner similar to consumption in the lungs4 ,the scrofulous taint has been known to be so strong as to affect the foetus1 and lambs have occasionally been born with it1 but much oftener they show it at an early age1 and any affected in this way are liable to fall an easy prey to any ordinary or prevailing disease which develops in such with unusual severity4 ,sheep are also liable to several diseases of the brain and of the respiratory and digestive organs4 ,epilepsy1 or fits1 and rheumatism sometimes occur4 ,swine are subject to nearly the same hereditary diseases as sheep4 ,epilepsy is more common with them than with the latter1 and they are more liable to scrofula than any other domestic animals4 ,when properly and carefully managed1 swine are not ordinarily very liable to disease1 but when1 as too often kept in small1 damp1 filthy styes1 and obliged constantly to inhale noxious effluvia1 and to eat unsuitable food1 we cannot wonder either that they become victims of disease or transmit to their progeny a weak and sickly organization4 ,swine are not naturally the dirty beasts which many suppose4 ,wallowing in the mire1 so proverbial of them1 is rather from a wish for protection from insects and for coolness1 than from any inherent love of filth1 and if well cared for they will be comparatively cleanly4 ,the practice of close breeding1 which is probably carried to greater extent with swine than with any other domestic animal1 undoubtedly contributes to their liability to hereditary diseases1 and when those possessing any such diseases are coupled1 the ruin of the stock is easily and quickly effected1 for as already stated1 they are propagated by either parent1 and always most certainly and in most aggravated form1 when occurring in both4 ,with regard to hereditary diseases1 it is eminently true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure4 ,as a general and almost invariable rule1 animals possessing either defects or a tendency to disease should not be employed for breeding4 ,if1 however1 for special reasons it seems desirable to breed from one which has some slight defect of symmetry1 or a faint tendency to disease1 although for the latter it is doubtful if the possession of any good qualities can fully compensate1 it should be mated with one which excels in every respect in which the other is deficient1 and on no account with one which is near of kin to it4 ,notwithstanding the importance due to the subject of hereditary diseases1 it is also true that few diseases invariably owe their development to hereditary causes4 ,even such as are usually hereditary are sometimes produced accidentally1 7as of course there must be a beginning to everything17 and in such case1 they may1 or may not be1 transmitted to their progeny4 ,as before shown1 it is certain that they sometimes are1 which is sufficient reason to avoid such for breeding purposes4 ,it is also well known that1 in the horse1 for instance1 certain forms of limbs predispose to certain diseases1 as bone spavin is most commonly seen where there is a disproportion in the size of the limb above and below the hock1 and others might be named of similar character2 in all such cases the disease may be caused by an agency which would be wholly inadequate in one of more perfect form1 but once existing1 it is liable to be reproduced in the offspring--all tending to show the great importance of giving due heed in selecting breeding animals to all qualities1 both external and internal1 so long as like produces like4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,finlay ,dun1 ,v4,s41 in ,journal of the ,royal ,agricultural ,society4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,variation4 ,we come now to consider another law1 by which that of similarity is greatly modified1 to wit1 the law of variation or divergence4 ,all organic beings1 whether plants or animals1 possess a certain flexibility or pliancy of organization1 rendering them capable of change to a greater or less extent4 ,when in a state of nature variations are comparatively slow and infrequent1 but when in a state of domestication they occur much oftener and to a much greater extent4 ,the greater variability in the latter case is doubtless owing1 in some measure1 to our domestic productions being reared under conditions of life not so uniform1 and different from1 those to which the parent species was exposed in a state of nature4 ,flexibility of organization in connexion with climate1 is seen in a remarkable degree in ,indian corn4 ,the small ,canada variety1 growing only three feet high and ripening in seventy to ninety days when carried southward1 gradually enlarges in the whole plant until it may be grown twelve feet high and upwards1 and requires one hundred and fifty days to ripen its seed4 ,a southern variety brought northward1 gradually dwindles in size and ripens earlier until it reaches a type specially fitted to its latitude4 ,variation1 although the same in kind1 is greater in degree1 among domesticated plants than among animals4 ,from the single wild variety of the potato as first discovered and taken to ,europe1 have sprung innumerable sorts4 ,kemp1 in his work on ,agricultural ,physiology1 tells us1 that on the maritime cliffs of ,england1 there exists a little plant with a fusiform root1 smooth glaucous leaves1 flowers similar to wild mustard and of a saline taste4 ,it is called by botanists1 ,brassica oleracea4 ,by cultivation there have been obtained from this insignificant and apparently useless plant-- #ast1 all borecoles or kails1 #ab varieties or more4 #b;d1 all cabbages having heart4 #c;d1 the various kinds of ,savoy cabbages4 #dth1 ,brussels sprouts4 #eth1 all the broccolis and cauliflowers which do not heart4 #fth1 the rape plant4 #gth1 the ruta baga or ,swedish turnip4 #hth1 yellow and white turnips4 #ith1 hybrid turnips4 #ajth1 kohl rabbi4 ,similar examples are numerous among our common useful plants1 and among flowers the dahlia and verbena furnish an illustration of countless varieties1 embracing numberless hues and combinations of color1 from purest white through nearly all the tints of the rainbow to almost black1 of divers hights too1 and habits of growth1 springing up under the hand of cultivation in a few years from plants which at first yielded only a comparatively unattractive and self-colored flower4 ,in brief1 it may be said1 that nearly or quite all the choicest productions both of our kitchen and flower gardens are due to variations induced by cultivation in a course of years from plants which in their natural condition would scarcely attract a passing glance4 ,we cannot say what might have been the original type of many of our domestic animals1 for the inquiry would carry us beyond any record of history or tradition regarding it1 but few doubt that all our varieties of the horse1 the ox1 the sheep and the dog1 sprang each originally from a single type1 and that the countless variations are due to causes connected with their domestication4 ,of those reclaimed within the period of memory may be named the turkey4 ,this was unknown to the inhabitants of the old continent until discovered here in a wild state4 ,since then1 having been domesticated and widely disseminated1 it now offers varieties of wide departure from the original type1 and which have been nurtured into self-sustaining breeds1 distinguished from each other by the possession of peculiar characteristics4 ,among what are usually reckoned the more active causes of variation may be named climate1 food and habit4 ,animals in cold climates are provided with a thicker covering of hair than in warmer ones4 ,indeed1 it is said that in some of the tropical provinces of ,south ,america1 there are cattle which have an extremely rare and fine fur in place of the ordinary pile of hair4 ,various other instances could be cited1 if necessary1 going to show that a beneficent ,creator has implanted in many animals1 to a certain extent1 a power of accommodation to the circumstances and conditions amid which they are reared4 ,the supply of food1 whether abundant or scanty1 is one of the most active cases of variation known to be within the control of man4 ,for illustration of its effect1 let us suppose two pairs of twin calves1 as nearly alike as possible1 and let a male and a female from each pair be suckled by their mothers until they wean themselves1 and be fed always after with plenty of the most nourishing food2 and the others to be fed with skimmed milk1 hay tea and gruel at first1 to be put to grass at two months old1 and subsequently fed on coarse and innutritious fodder4 ,let these be bred from separately1 and the same style of treatment kept up1 and not many generations would elapse before we had distinct varieties1 or breeds1 differing materially in size1 temperament and time of coming to maturity4 ,suppose other similar pairs1 and one from each to be placed in the richest blue-grass pastures of ,kentucky1 or in the fertile valley of the ,tees2 always supplied with abundance of rich food1 these live luxuriously1 grow rapidly1 increase in hight1 bulk1 thickness1 every way1 they early reach the full size which they are capable of attaining2 having nothing to induce exertion1 they become inactive1 lazy1 lethargic and fat4 ,being bred from1 the progeny resemble the parents1 only more so4 ,each generation acquiring more firmly and fixedly the characteristics induced by their situation1 these become hereditary1 and we by and by have a breed exhibiting somewhat of the traits of the ,teeswater or ,durhams from which the improved ,short-horns of the present day have been reared4 ,the others we will suppose to have been placed on the hill-sides of ,new ,england1 or on the barren ,isle of ,jersey1 or on the highlands of ,scotland1 or in the pastures of ,devonshire4 ,these being obliged to roam longer for a scantier repast grow more slowly1 develop their capabilities in regard to size not only more slowly1 but1 perhaps1 not fully at all--they become more active in temperament and habit1 thinner and flatter in muscle4 ,their young cannot so soon shift for themselves and require more milk1 and the dams yield it4 ,each generation in its turn becomes more completely and fully adapted to the circumstances amid which they are reared1 and if bred indiscriminately with any thing and every thing else1 we by and by have the common mixed cattle of ,new ,england1 miscalled natives2 or if kept more distinct1 we have something approaching the ,devon1 the ,ayrshire1 or the ,jersey breeds4 ,a due consideration of the natural effect of climate and food is a point worthy the special attention of the stock-husbandman4 ,if the breeds employed be well adapted to the situation1 and the capacity of the soil is such as to feed them fully1 profit may be safely calculated upon4 ,animals are to be looked upon as machines for converting herbage into money4 ,now it costs a certain amount to keep up the motive power of any machine1 and also to make good the wear and tear incident to its working2 and in the case of animals it is only so much as is digested and assimilated1 in addition to the amount thus required1 which is converted into meat1 milk or wool2 so that the greater the proportion which the latter bears to the former1 the greater will be the profit to be realized from keeping them4 ,there has been in ,new ,england generally a tendency to choose animals of large size1 as large as can be had from any where1 and if they possess symmetry and all other good qualities commensurate with the size1 and if plenty of nutritious food can be supplied1 there is an advantage gained by keeping such1 for it costs less1 other things being equal1 to shelter and care for one animal than for two4 ,but our pastures and meadows are not the richest to be found any where1 and if we select such as require1 in order to give the profit which they are capable of yielding1 more or richer food than our farms can supply1 or than we have the means to purchase1 we must necessarily fail to reap as much profit as we might by the selection of such as could be easily fed upon home resources to the point of highest profit4 ,whether the selection be of such as are either larger or smaller than suit our situation1 they will1 and equally in both cases1 vary by degrees towards the fitting size or type for the locality in which they are kept1 but there is this noteworthy difference1 that if larger ones be brought in1 they will not only diminish1 but deteriorate1 while if smaller be brought in1 they will enlarge and improve4 ,the bestowal of food sufficient both in amount and quality to enable animals to develop all the excellencies inherent in them1 and to obtain all the profit to be derived from them1 is something very distinct from undue forcing or pampering4 ,this process may produce wonderful animals to look at1 but neither useful nor profitable ones1 and there is danger of thus producing a most undesirable variation1 for1 as in plants1 we find that forcing1 pampering1 high culture or whatever else it may be called1 may be carried so far as to result in the production of double flowers1 7an unnatural development17 and these accompanied with greater or less inability to perfect seed1 so in animals1 the same process may be carried far enough to produce sterility4 ,instances are not wanting1 and particularly among the more recent improved ,short-horns1 of impotency among the males and of barrenness in the females1 and in some cases where they have borne calves they have failed to secrete milk for their nourishment4#c ,impotency in bulls of various breeds has not unfrequently occurred from too high feeding1 and especially if connected with lack of sufficient exercise4#d ,habit has a decided influence towards inducing variation4 ,as the blacksmith's right arm becomes more muscular from the habit of exercise induced by his vocation1 so we find in domestic animals that use1 or the demand created by habit1 is met by a development or change in the organization adapted to the requirement4 ,for instance1 with cows in a state of nature or where required only to suckle their young1 the supply of milk is barely fitted to the requirement4 ,if more is desired1 and if the milk be drawn completely and regularly1 the yield is increased and continued longer4 ,by keeping up the demand there is induced in the next generation a greater development of the secreting organs1 and more milk is given4 ,by continuing the practice1 by furnishing the needful conditions of suitable food1 c41 and by selecting in each generation those animals showing the greatest tendency towards milk1 a breed specially adapted for the dairy may be established4 ,it is just by this mode that the ,ayrshires have1 in the past eighty or a hundred years1 been brought to be what they are1 a breed giving more good milk upon a given quantity of food than any other4 ,it is because the ,english breeders of modern ,short-horns altogether prefer beef-making to milk-giving properties that they have constantly fostered variation in favor of the one at the expense of the other until the milking quality in many families is nearly bred out4 ,it was not so formerly--thirty years ago the ,short-horns 7or as they were then usually called1 the ,durhams7 were not deficient in dairy qualities1 and some families were famous for large yield4 ,by properly directed efforts they might1 doubtless1 be bred back to milk1 but of this there is no probability1 at least in ,england1 for the tendency of modern practice is very strong toward having each breed specially fitted to its use--the dairy breeds for milk and the beef breeds for meat only4 ,the requirements of the ,english breeder are in some respects quite unlike those of ,new ,england farmers--for instance1 as they employ no oxen for labor there is no inducement to cultivate working qualities even1 in connection with beef4 ,as an illustration of the effect of habit1 ,darwin#e cites the domestic duck1 of which he says1 ,i find that the bones of the wing weigh less1 and the bones of the leg more1 in proportion to the whole skeleton1 than do the same bones in the wild duck2 and ,i presume that this change may be safely attributed to the domestic duck flying much less and walking more than its wild parent4 ,and again1 not a single domestic animal can be named which has not in some country drooping ears1 and the view suggested by some authors1 that the drooping is due to the disuse of the muscles of the ear1 from the animals not being much alarmed by danger1 seems probable4 ,climate1 food and habit are the principal causes of variation which are known to be in any marked degree under the control of man2 and the effect of these is1 doubtless1 in some measure indirect and subservient to other laws1 of reproduction1 growth and inheritance1 of which we have at present very imperfect knowledge4 ,this is shown by the fact that the young of the same litter sometimes differ considerably from each other1 though both the young and their parents have apparently been exposed to exactly the same conditions of life2 for had the action of these conditions been specific or direct and independent of other laws1 if any of the young had varied1 the whole would probably have varied in the same manner4 ,numberless hypotheses have been started to account for variation4 ,some hold that it is as much the function of the reproductive system to produce individual differences as it is to make the child like the parents4 ,darwin says the reproductive system is eminently susceptible to changes in the conditions of life2 and to this system being functionally disturbed in the parents ,i chiefly attribute the varying or plastic condition of the offspring4 ,the male and female sexual elements seem to be affected before that union takes place which is to form a new being4 ,but why1 because the re-productive system is disturbed this or that part should vary more or less1 we are profoundly ignorant4 ,nevertheless we can here and there dimly catch a faint ray of light1 and we may feel sure that there must be some cause for each deviation of structure however slight4 ,it may be useless for us to speculate here upon the laws which govern variations4 ,the fact that these exist is what the breeder has to deal with1 and a most important one it is1 for it is this chiefly1 which makes hereditary transmission the problem which it is4 ,his aim should ever be to grasp and render permanent and increase so far as practicable1 every variation for the better1 and to reject for breeding purposes such as show a downward tendency4 ,that this may be done1 there is abundant proof in the success which has in many instances attended the well directed efforts of intelligent breeders4 ,a remarkable instance is furnished in the new ,mauchamp-,merino sheep of ,mons4 ,graux1 which originated in a single animal1 a product of the law of variation1 and which by skillful breeding and selection has become an established breed of a peculiar type and possessing valuable properties4 ,samples of the wool of these sheep were shown at the great exhibition in ,london1 in #ahea1 and attracted much attention4 ,it was also shown at the great recent ,agricultural ,exhibition at ,paris4 ,a correspondent of the ,mark ,lane ,express1 says3 ,one of the most interesting portions of the sheep-show is that of the ,mauchamp variety of ,merinos1 having a new kind of wool1 glossy and silky1 similar to mohair4 ,this is an instance of an entirely new breed being as it were created from a mere sport of nature4 ,it was originated by ,mons4 ,j4,l4 ,graux4 ,in the year #ahbh1 a ,merino ewe produced a peculiar ram lamb1 having a different shape from the usual ,merino1 and possessing a long1 straight1 and silky character of wool4 ,in #ahcj1 ,m4 ,graux obtained by this ram one ram and one ewe1 having the silky character of wool4 ,in #ahca1 among the produce were four rams and one ewe with similar fleeces2 and in #ahcc there were rams enough of the new sort to serve the whole flock of ewes4 ,in each subsequent year the lambs were of two kinds2 one possessing the curled elastic wool of the old ,merinos1 only a little longer and finer2 the other like the new breed4 ,at last1 the skillful breeder obtained a flock combining the fine silky fleece with a smaller head1 broader flanks1 and more capacious chest2 and several flocks being crossed with the ,mauchamp variety1 have produced also the ,mauchamp-,merino breed4 ,the pure ,mauchamp wool is remarkable for its qualities as a combing-wool1 owing to the strength1 as well as the length and fineness of the fibre4 ,it is found of great value by the manufacturers of ,cashmere shawls and similar goods1 being second only to the true ,cashmere fleece1 in the fine flexible delicacy of the fibre2 and when in combination with ,cashmere wool1 imparting strength and consistency4 ,the quantity of the wool has now become as great or greater than from ordinary ,merinos1 while the quality commands for it twenty-five per cent4 higher price in the ,french market4 ,surely breeders cannot watch too closely any accidental peculiarity of conformation or characteristic in their flocks or herds4 ,mons4 ,vilmorin1 the eminent horticulturist of ,paris1 has likened the law of similarity to the centripetal force1 and the law of variation to the centrifugal force2 and in truth their operations seem analogous1 and possibly they may be the same in kind1 though certainly unlike in this1 that they are not reducible to arithmetical calculation and cannot be subjected to definite measurement4 ,his thought is at least a highly suggestive one and may be pursued with profit4 ,among the faint rays alluded to by ,mr4 ,darwin as throwing light upon the changes dependent on the laws of reproduction1 there is one1 perhaps the brightest yet seen1 which deserves our notice4 ,it is the apparent influence of the male first having fruitful intercourse with a female upon her subsequent offspring by other males4 ,attention was first directed to this by the following circumstance1 related by ,sir ,everard ,home3 ,a young chestnut mare1 seven-eighths ,arabian1 belonging to the ,earl of ,morton1 was covered in #ahae by a ,quagga1 which is a species of wild ass from ,africa1 and marked somewhat in the style of a ,zebra4 ,the mare was covered but once by the ,quagga1 and after a pregnancy of eleven months and four days gave birth to a hybrid1 which had1 as was expected1 distinct marks of the ,quagga1 in the shape of its head1 black bars on the legs and shoulders1 c4 ,in #ahag1 #ahah and #ahba1 the same mare was covered by a very fine black ,arabian horse1 and produced successively three foals1 and although she had not seen the ,quagga since #ahaf1 they all bore his curious and unequivocal markings4 ,since the occurrence of this case numerous others of a similar character have been observed1 a few of which may be mentioned4 ,mr4 ,mc,gillivray says1 that in several foals in the royal stud at ,hampton ,court1 got by the horse ,acton1 there were unmistakable marks of the horse ,colonel4 ,the dams of these foals were bred from by ,colonel the previous year4 ,a colt1 the property of the ,earl of ,suffield1 got by ,laurel1 so resembled another horse1 ,camel1 that it was whispered and even asserted at ,newmarket that he must have been got by ,camel4 ,it was ascertained1 however1 that the mother of the colt bore a foal the previous year by ,camel4 ,alex4 ,morrison1 ,esq41 of ,bognie1 had a fine ,clydesdale mare which in #ahdc was served by a ,spanish ass and produced a mule4 ,she afterwards had a colt by a horse1 which bore a very marked likeness to a mule--seen at a distance1 every one sets it down at once as a mule4 ,the ears are nine and one-half inches long1--the girth not quite six feet1 stands above sixteen hands high4 ,the hoofs are so long and narrow that there is a difficulty in shoeing them1 and the tail is thin and scanty4 ,he is a beast of indomitable energy and durability1 and highly prized by his owner4 ,numerous similar cases are on record1#f and it appears to have been known among the ,arabs for centuries1 that a mare which has first borne a mule1 is ever after unfit to breed pure horses2#g and the fact seems now to be perfectly well understood in all the mule-breeding ,states of the ,union4 ,a pure ,aberdeenshire heifer1 the property of a farmer in ,forgue1 was served with a pure ,teeswater bull to which she had a first cross calf4 ,the following season the same cow was served with a pure ,aberdeenshire bull1 the produce was in appearance a cross-bred calf1 which at two years old had long horns2 the parents were both hornless4 ,a small flock of ewes1 belonging to ,dr4 ,w4 ,wells in the island of ,grenada1 were served by a ram procured for the purpose2--the ewes were all white and woolly2 the ram was quite different1--of a chocolate color1 and hairy like a goat4 ,the progeny were of course crosses but bore a strong resemblance to the male parent4 ,the next season1 ,dr4 ,wells obtained a ram of precisely the same breed as the ewes1 but the progeny showed distinct marks of resemblance to the former ram1 in color and covering4 ,the same thing occurred on neighboring estates under like circumstances4 ,six very superior pure-bred black-faced horned ewes1 belonging to ,mr4 ,h4 ,shaw of ,leochel-,cushnie1 were served by a ,leicester ram1 7white-faced and hornless47 ,the lambs were crosses4 ,the next year they were served by a ram of exactly the same breed as the ewes themselves4 ,to ,mr4 ,shaw's astonishment the lambs were without an exception hornless and brownish in the face1 instead of being black and horned4 ,the third year 7#ahdf7 they were again served by a superior ram of their own breed1 and again the lambs were mongrels1 but showed less of the ,leicester characteristics than before4 ,mr4 ,shaw at last parted from these fine ewes without obtaining a single pure-bred lamb4#h ,it has been noticed that a well bred bitch1 if she have been impregnated by a mongrel dog1 will not although lined subsequently by a pure dog1 bear thorough-bred puppies in the next two or three litters4#i ,the like occurrence has been noticed in respect of the sow4 ,a sow of the black and white breed became pregnant by a boar of the wild breed of a deep chestnut color4 ,the pigs produced were duly mixed1 the color of the boar being in some very predominant4 ,the sow being afterwards put to a boar of the same breed as herself1 some of the produce were still stained or marked with the chestnut color which prevailed in the first litter and the same occurred after a third impregnation1 the boar being then of the same kind as herself4 ,what adds to the force of this case is that in the course of many years' observation the breed in question was never known to produce progeny having the slightest tinge of chestnut color4#aj ,the above are a few of the many instances on record tending to show the influence of a first impregnation upon subsequent progeny by other males4 ,not a few might also be given showing that the same rule holds in the human species1 of which a single one will suffice here3--,a young woman residing in ,edinburgh1 and born of white parents1 but whose mother previous to her marriage bore a mulatto child by a negro man servant1 exhibits distinct traces of the negro4 ,dr4 ,simpson1 whose patient at one time1 the young woman was1 recollects being struck with the resemblance1 and noticed particularly that the hair had the qualities characteristic of the negro4 ,dr4 ,carpenter1 in the last edition of his work on physiology1 says it is by no means an infrequent occurrence for a widow who has married again to bear children resembling her first husband4 ,various explanations have been offered to account for the facts observed1 among which the theory of ,mr4 ,mc,gillivray1 ,v4,s41 which is endorsed by ,dr4 ,harvey1 and considered 7as we shall presently see7 as very probable at least by ,dr4 ,carpenter1 seems the most satisfactory4 ,dr4 ,harvey says3 ,instances are sufficiently common among the lower animals where the offspring exhibit more or less distinctly over and beyond the characters of the male by which they were begotten1 the peculiarities also of a male by which their mother at some former period had been impregnated4 99 99 99 ,great difficulty has been felt by physiological writers in regard to the proper explanation of this kind of phenomena4 ,they have been ascribed by some to a permanent impression made somehow by the semen of the first male on the genitals and more particularly on the ova of the female3#aa and by others to an abiding influence exerted by him on the imagination and operating at the time of her connection subsequently with other males and perhaps during her pregnancy2 but they seem to be regarded by most physiologists as inexplicable4 ,very recently1 in a paper published in the ,aberdeen ,journal1 a ,veterinary ,surgeon1 ,mr4 ,james ,mc,gillivray of ,huntley1 has offered an explanation which seems to me to be the true one4 ,his theory is that when a pure animal of any breed has been pregnant to an animal of a different breed1 such pregnant animal is a cross ever after1 the purity of her blood being lost in consequence of her connection with the foreign animal1 herself ,,becoming ,a ,,cross ,,forever1 incapable of producing a pure calf of any breed4 ,dr4 ,harvey believes that while as all allow1 a portion of the mother's blood is continually passing by absorption and assimilation into the body of the foetus1 in order to its nutrition and development1 a portion of the blood of the foetus is as constantly passing in like manner into the body of the mother2 that as this commingles there with the general mass of the mother's own blood1 it inoculates her system with the constitutional qualities of the foetus1 and that1 as these qualities are in part derived to the foetus from the male progenitor1 the peculiarities of the latter are thereby so ingrafted on the system of the female as to be communicable by her to any offspring she may subsequently have by other males4 ,in support of this view1 ,mr4 ,mc,gillivray cites a case in which there was presented unmistakable evidence that the organization of the placenta admits the return of the venous blood to the mother2 and ,dr4 ,harvey1 with much force1 suggests that the effect produced is analogous to the known fact that constitutional syphilis has been communicated to a female who never had any of the primary symptoms4 ,regarding the occurrence of such phenomena1 ,dr4 ,harvey under a later date says3 since then ,i have learned that many among the agricultural body in this district are familiar to a degree that is annoying to them with the facts then adduced in illustration of it1 finding that after breeding crosses1 their cows though served with bulls of their own breed yield crosses still or rather mongrels2 that they were already impressed with the idea of contamination of blood as the cause of the phenomenon2 that the doctrine so intuitively commended itself to their minds as soon as stated1 that they fancied they were told nothing but what they knew before1 so just is the observation that truth proposed is much more easily perceived than without such proposal is it discovered4#ab ,dr4 ,carpenter1 speaking of phenomena analogous to what are here alluded to1 says3 ,some of these cases appear referable to the strong impression left by the first male parent upon the female2 but there are others which seem to render it more likely that the blood of the female has imbibed from that of the foetus1 through the placental circulation1 some of the attributes which the latter has derived from its male parent1 and that the female may communicate these1 with those proper to herself1 to the subsequent offspring of a different male parentage4 ,this idea is borne out by a great number of important facts4 99 99 ,as this is a point of great practical importance it may be hoped that those who have the opportunity of bringing observation to bear upon it1 will not omit to do so4 ,in the absence of more general and accurate observations directed to this point1 it is impossible to say to what extent the first male produces impression upon subsequent progeny by other males4 ,there can be no doubt1 however1 but that such an impression is made4 ,the instances where it is of so marked and obvious a character as in some of those just related may be comparatively few1 yet there is abundant reason to believe1 that although in a majority of cases the effect may be less noticeable1 it is not less real1 and demands the special attention of all breeders4 ,whether this result is to be ascribed to inoculation of the system of the female with the characteristics of the male through the foetus1 or to any other mode of operation1 it is obviously of great advantage for every breeder to know it and thereby both avoid error and loss and secure profit4 ,it is a matter which deserves thorough investigation and the observations should be minute and have regard not only to peculiarities of form1 but also to qualities and characteristics not so obvious2 for instance there may be greater or less hardiness1 endurance or aptitude to fatten4 ,these may be usually more dependent on the dam1 but the male is never without a degree of influence upon them1 and it is well established that aptitude to fatten is usually communicated by the ,short-horn bull to crosses with cattle of mixed or mongrel origin which are often very deficient in this desirable property4 ,mr4 ,mc,gillivray says3 ,a knowledge of the fact must be of the greatest benefit to the breeder in two ways1 positively and negatively4 ,i have known very great disappointment and loss result from allowing an inferior male to serve a first rate female--the usefulness of such female being thereby forever destroyed4 ,as for the positive benefits arising from the inoculation--they are obvious to any unbiased mind4 ,the black polled and ,aberdeenshire cattle common to this country 7,scotland7 may be1 and often are1 improved by the following plan3 ,select a good1 well formed1 and healthy heifer--put her1 in proper season1 to a pure ,short-horn bull2 after the calf to this ,durham bull1 breed from the cow with bulls of her own breed2 occasionally1 and most likely the first time1 a red calf ultimately having horns will appear even from the polled bull and cow2 but in general the calves will be of the same type with the polled parents but with many points improved1 and an aptitude to fatten1 to come earlier to maturity1 c41 such as no one of the pure polled or ,aberdeenshire breed ever exhibited in this country1 or any other country1 however well kept1 previous to the introduction of the ,short-horn breed4 ,the offspring of these breeds thus improved1 when bred from again1 will exhibit many points and qualities of excellence similar to the best crosses but retaining much of the hardiness of the original stock1 no mean consideration for this changeable and often severe climate4 ,and1 moreover1 such crosses1--for they are crosses--will command high prices as improved polled or ,aberdeenshire cattle4 ,i happen to know of a case where a farmer1 from a distance purchased a two year old heifer of the stamp referred to1 for the purpose of improving his polled cattle1 and for this heifer he paid fifty guineas4 ,the knowledge of this law#ac gives us a clue to the cause of many of the disappointments of which practical breeders often complain and to the cause of many variations otherwise unaccountable1 and it suggests particular caution as to the first male employed in the coupling of animals1 a matter which has often been deemed of little consequence in regard to cattle1 inasmuch as fewer heifers' first calves are reared1 than of such as are borne subsequently4 ,another faint ray of light touching the causes of variation is afforded us by the fact that the qualities of offspring are not only dependent on the habitual conditions of the parents1 but also upon any peculiar condition existing at the time of sexual congress4 ,for instance1 the offspring of parents ordinarily healthy and temperate1 but begotten in a fit of intoxication1 would be likely to suffer permanently1 both physically and mentally1 from the condition which the parents had temporarily brought upon themselves4 ,on the other hand1 offspring begotten of parents in an unusually healthy and active condition of body and mind1 would likely be unusually endowed both mentally and physically4 ,the ,arabs in breeding horses take advantage of this fact1 for before intercourse1 both sire and dam are actively exercised1 not to weariness1 but sufficiently to induce the most vigorous condition possible4 ,of this1 too1 we have proof in the phenomenon sometimes observed by breeders1 that a strong mental impression made upon the female by a particular male1 will give the offspring a resemblance to him1 even though she have no sexual intercourse with him4 ,of this1 ,mr4 ,boswell in his prize essay published in #ahbh1 gives a remarkable instance4 ,he says that ,mr4 ,mustard of ,angus1 one of the most intelligent breeders he had ever met with1 told him that one of his cows chanced to come into season while pasturing on a field bounded by that of one of his neighbors1 out of which field an ox jumped and went with the cow until she was brought home to the bull4 ,the ox was white1 with black spots1 and horned4 ,mr4 ,mustard had not a horned beast in his possession1 nor one with any white on it4 ,nevertheless1 the produce of the following spring was a black and white calf with horns4 ,the case of ,jacob is often quoted in support of this view1 and although many believe some miraculous agency to have been exerted in his case1 and though he could say with truth1 ,god hath taken away the cattle of your father and given them to me1 it seems1 on the whole1 more probable1 inasmuch as supernatural agency may never be presumed1 except where we know1 or have good reason to believe1 that natural causes are insufficient1 that ,god gave them1 as he now gives to some1 riches or honors2 that is to say1 by virtue of the operation of natural laws4 ,if all who keep cattle would exercise a tithe of the patriarch's shrewdness and sagacity in improving their stock1 we should see fewer ill-favored kine than at present4 ,the possibility of some effect being produced by a strong impression at the time of conception1 is not to be confounded with the popular error that marks upon an infant#ad are due to a transient1 although strong impression upon the imagination of the mother at any period of gestation1 which is unsupported by facts and absurd2 but there are facts sufficient upon record to prove that habitual mental condition1 and especially at an early stage of pregnancy1 may have the effect to produce some bodily deformity1 and should induce great caution4 ,,footnotes3 #c ,see ,rowley's ,prize ,report on ,farming in ,derbyshire1 in ,journal of ,royal ,agricultural ,society1 ,vol4 #ad4 #d ,a working bull1 though perhaps not so pleasing to the eye as a fat one1 7for fat sometimes covers a multitude of defects17 is a surer stock-getter2 and his progeny is more likely to inherit full health and vigor4 #e ,in his ,origin of ,species4 #f ,it was long ago stated by ,haller1 that when a mare had a foal by an ass and afterwards another by a horse1 the second offspring begotten by the horse nevertheless approached in character to a mule4 #g ,see ,abd el ,kader's letter4 #h ,journal of ,medical ,science1 #ahej4 #i ,kirke's ,physiology4 #aj ,philosophical ,transactions for #ahba4 #aa ,the late ,m4,a4 ,cuming1 ,v4,s41 of ,new ,brunswick1 once remarked to the writer1 that it might be due to the fact that the nerves of the uterus1 which before the first impregnation were in a rudimentary state1 were developed under a specific influence from the semen of the first male1 and that they might retain so much of a peculiar style of development as to impress upon future progeny by other males the likeness of the first4 #ab ,edinburgh ,journal ,medical ,science1 #ahdi4 #ac ,a very striking fact may be related in this connection1 which while it may or may not have a practical bearing on the breeding of domestic animals1 shows forcibly how mysterious are some of the laws of reproduction4 ,it is stated by the celebrated traveler1 ,count de ,strzelecki1 in his ,physical ,description of ,new ,south ,wales and ,van ,dieman's ,land4 ,whenever1 he says1 a fruitful intercourse has taken place between an aboriginal woman and an ,european male1 that aboriginal woman is forever after incapable of being impregnated by a male of her own nation1 although she may again be fertile with a ,european4 ,the ,count1 whose means and powers of observation are of the highest possible order1 affirms that hundreds of instances of this extraordinary fact are on record in the writer's memoranda all recurring invariably under the same circumstances1 all tending to prove that the sterility of the female1 which is relative only to one and not to the other male is not accidental1 but follows laws as cogent though as mysterious as the rest of those connected with generation4 ,the ,count's statement is endorsed by ,dr4 ,maunsell of ,dublin1 ,dr4 ,carmichael of ,edinburgh1 and the late ,prof4 ,goodsir1 who say they have learned from independent sources that as regards ,australia1 ,strzelecki's statement is unquestionable and must be regarded as the expression of a law of nature4 ,the law does not extend to the negro race1 the fertility of the negro female not being apparently impaired by previous fruitful intercourse with a ,european male4 ,in reply to an inquiry made whether he had ever noticed exceptional cases1 the ,count says3 ,it has not come under my cognizance to see or hear of a native female which having a child with a ,european had afterwards any offspring with a male of her own race4 ,the ,count's statement is suggestive as to the disappearance of the aborigines of some countries4 ,this has often been the subject of severe comment and is generally ascribed to the rum and diseases introduced by the white man4 ,it would now appear that other influences have also been operative4 #ad ,carpenter's ,physiology1 new edition1 page #ghc4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,atavism1 ,,or ,,ancestral ,,influence4 ,it may not be easy to say whether this phenomenon is more connected with the law of similarity1 or with that of variation4 ,youatt1 in his work on cattle published by the ,society for the ,diffusion of ,useful ,knowledge1 inclines to the former4 ,he speaks of it as showing the universality of the application of the axiom that like produces like--that when this may not seem to hold good1 it is often because the lost resemblance to generations gone by is strongly revived4 ,the phenomenon1 or law1 as it is sometimes called1 of atavism1#ae or ancestral influence1 is one of considerable practical importance1 and well deserves careful attention by the breeder of farm stock4 ,every one is aware that it is nothing unusual for a child to resemble its grandfather or grandmother or some ancestor still farther back1 more than it does either its own father or mother4 ,the fact is too familiar to require the citing of examples4 ,we find the same occurrence among our domestic animals1 and oftener in proportion as the breeds are crossed or mixed up4 ,among our common stock of neat cattle1 7natives1 as they are often called17 originating as they have done from animals brought from ,england1 ,scotland1 ,denmark1 ,france and ,spain1 each possessing different characteristics of form1 color and use2 and bred1 as our common stock has usually been1 indiscriminately together1 with no special point in view1 no attempt to obtain any particular type or form1 or to secure adaptation for any particular purpose1 we have very frequent opportunities of witnessing the results of the operation of this law of hereditary transmission4 ,so common indeed is its occurrence1 that the remark is often made1 that however good a cow may be1 there is no telling beforehand what sort of a calf she may have4 ,the fact is sufficiently obvious that certain peculiarities often lie dormant for a generation or two and then reappear in subsequent progeny4 ,stockmen often speak of it as breeding back1 or crying back4 ,the cause of this phenomenon we may not fully understand4 ,a late writer says1 it is to be explained on the supposition that the qualities were transmitted by the grandfather to the father in whom they were masked by the presence of some antagonistic or controlling influence1 and were thence transmitted to the son in whom the antagonistic influence being withdrawn they manifest themselves4 ,a ,french writer on ,physiology says1 if there is not inheritance of paternal characteristics1 there is at least an aptitude to inherit them1 a disposition to reproduce them2 and there is always a transmission of this aptitude to some new descendants1 among whom these traits will manifest themselves sooner or later4#af ,mr4 ,singer1 let us say1 has a remarkable aptitude for music2 but the influence of ,mrs4 ,singer is such that their children inheriting her imperfect ear1 manifest no musical talent whatever4 ,these children however have inherited the disposition of the father in spite of its non-manifestation2 and if1 when they transmit what in them is latent1 the influence of their wives is favorable1 the grand-children may turn out musically gifted4 ,the lesson taught by the law of atavism is very plain4 ,it shows the importance of seeking thorough-bred or well-bred animals2 and by these terms are simply meant such as are descended from a line of ancestors in which for many generations the desirable forms1 qualities and characteristics have been uniformly shown4 ,in such a case1 even if ancestral influence does come in play1 no material difference appears in the offspring1 the ancestors being all essentially alike4 ,from this stand point we best perceive in what consists the money value of a good pedigree4 ,it is in the evidence which it brings that the animal is descended from a line all the individuals of which were alike1 and excellent of their kind1 and so is almost sure to transmit like excellencies to its progeny in turn2--not that every animal with a long pedigree full of high-sounding names is necessarily of great value as a breeder1 for in every race or breed1 as we have seen while speaking of the law of variation1 there will be here and there some which are less perfect and symmetrical of their kind than others2 and if such be bred from1 they may likely enough transmit undesirable points2 and if they be mated with others possessing similar failings1 they are almost sure to deteriorate very considerably4 ,pedigree is valuable in proportion as it shows an animal to be descended1 not only from such as are purely of its own race or breed1 but also from such individuals in that breed as were specially noted for the excellencies for which that particular breed is esteemed4 ,weeds are none the less worthless because they appear among a crop consisting chiefly of valuable plants1 nor should deformed or degenerate plants1 although they be true to their kind1 ever be employed to produce seed4 ,if we would have good cabbages or turnips1 it is needful to select the most perfect and the soundest to grow seed from1 and to continue such selection year after year4 ,precisely the same rule holds with regard to animals4 ,the pertinacity with which hereditary traits cling to the organization in a latent1 masked or undeveloped condition for long after they might be supposed to be wholly bred out is sometimes very remarkable4 ,what is known among breeders of ,short-horns as the ,galloway alloy1 although originating by the employment for only once of a single animal of a different breed1 is said to be traceable even now1 after many years1 in the occasional development of a smutty nose in descendants of that family4 ,many years ago there were in the ,kennebec valley a few polled or hornless cattle4 ,they were not particularly cherished1 and gradually diminished in numbers4 ,mr4 ,payne ,wingate shot the last animal of this breed1 7a bull calf or a yearling17 mistaking it in the dark for a bear4 ,during thirty-five years subsequently all the cattle upon his farm had horns1 but at the end of that time one of his cows produced a calf which grew up without horns1 and ,mr4 ,wingate said it was1 in all respects1 the exact image of the first bull of the breed brought there4 ,probably the most familiar exemplification of clearly marked ancestral influence among us1 is to be found in the ill-begotten1 round-breeched calves occasionally1 and not very unfrequently1 dropped by cows of the common mixed kind1 and which1 if killed early1 make very blue veal1 and if allowed to grow up1 become exceedingly profitless and unsatisfactory beasts2 the heifers being often sterile1 the cows poor milkers1 the oxen dull1 mulish beasts1 yielding flesh of very dark color1 ill flavor and destitute of fat4 ,they are known by various names in different localities1 in ,maine as the ,whitten and ,peter ,waldo breed1 in ,massachusetts as ,yorkshire and ,westminster1 in ,new ,york as the ,pumpkin buttocks1 in ,england as ,lyery or ,lyery ,dutch1 c41 c4 ,those in northern ,new ,england are believed to be descended chiefly from a bull brought from ,watervliet1 near ,albany1 ,new ,york1 more than forty years ago1 7in #ahah17 by the ,shakers at ,alfred1 in ,york county1 ,maine1 and afterwards transferred to their brethren in ,cumberland county4 ,no one who has proved the worthlessness of these cattle can readily believe that any bull of this sort would have been knowingly kept for service since the first one brought into the ,state1 and yet it is by no means a rare occurrence to find calves dropped at the present time bearing unmistakable evidence of that origin4 ,it seems likely that this disagreeable peculiarity was first brought into the country by means of some of the early importations of ,dutch or of the old ,durham breed4 ,culley1 in speaking of the ,short-horns1 inclines to the opinion that they were originally from ,holland1 and himself recollected men who in the early part of their lives imported ,dutch cattle into the county of ,durham1 and of one ,mr4 ,dobinson he says1 he was noted for having the best breed of ,short-horns of any and sold at high prices4 ,but afterwards some other persons of less knowledge1 going over1 brought home some bulls that introduced the disagreeable kind of cattle called lyery or double lyered1 that is1 black-fleshed4 ,these will feed to great weight1 but though fed ever so long will not have a pound of fat about them1 neither within or without1 and the flesh 7for it does not deserve to be called beef7 is as black and coarse grained as horse flesh4 ,no man will buy one of this kind if he knows any thing of the matter1 and if he should be once taken in he will remember it well for the future2 people conversant with cattle very readily find them out by their round form1 particularly their buttocks1 which are turned like a black coach horse1 and the smallness of the tail2 but they are best known to the graziers and dealers in cattle by the feel or touch of the fingers2 indeed it is this nice touch or feel of the hand that in a great measure constitutes the judge of cattle4 ,,footnotes3 #ae ,from the ,latin ,atavus--meaning any ancestor indefinitely1 as a grandmother's great grandfather4 #af ,s'il n'y a pas hritage des caractres paternels il y a donc au moins aptitude en heriter1 disposition les reproduire1 et toujours cette transmission de cette aptitude des noveau descendants1 chez lesquels ces mmes caractres se manifesteront tt ou tard4--,longet's ,traite de ,physiologie1 ii3 #acc4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,relative ,,influence ,,of ,,the ,,parents4 ,the relative influence of the male and female parents upon the characteristics of progeny has long been a fertile subject of discussion among breeders4 ,it is found in experience that progeny sometimes resembles one parent more than the other1--sometimes there is an apparent blending of the characteristics of both1--sometimes a noticeable dissimilarity to either1 though always more or less resemblance somewhere1 and sometimes1 the impress of one may be seen upon a portion of the organization of the offspring and that of the other parent upon another portion2 yet we are not authorized from such discrepancies to conclude that it is a matter of chance1 for all of nature's operations are conducted by fixed laws1 whether we be able fully to discover them or not4 ,the same causes always produce the same results4 ,in this case1 not less than in others there are1 beyond all doubt1 fixed laws1 and the varying results which we see are easily and sufficiently accounted for by the existence of conditions or modifying influences not fully patent to our observation4 ,in the year #ahbe1 the ,highland ,society of ,scotland1 proposed as the subject of prize essays1 the solution of the question1 whether the breed of live stock connected with agriculture be susceptible of the greatest improvement from the qualities conspicuous in the male or from those conspicuous in the female parent8 ,four essays received premiums4 ,mr4 ,boswell1 one of the prize writers1 maintained that it is not only the male parent which is capable of most speedily improving the breed of live stock1 but that the male is the parent which we can alone look to for improvement4 ,his paper is of considerable length and ably written--abounding in argument and illustrations not easily condensed so as to be given here1 and it is but justice to add that he also holds that before the breed of a country can be improved1 much more must be looked to than the answer to the question put by the ,highland ,society--such as crossing1 selection of both parents1 attention to pedigree1 and to the food and care of offspring4 ,and of crossing1 he says1 when ,i praise the advantage of crossing1 ,i would have it clearly understood that it is only to bring together animals not nearly related but always of the same breed2 never attempting to breed from a speed horse and a draught mare or vice versa4 ,crossing of breeds may do well enough for once1 but will end in vexation1 if attempted to be prolonged into a line4 ,mr4 ,christian1 in his essay1 supports the view1 that the offspring bears the greatest resemblance to that parent whether male or female1 which has exerted the greatest sway of generative influence in the formation of the foetus1 that any hypothesis which would assign a superiority1 or set limits to the influence of either sex in the product of generation is unsound and inadmissible1 and he thus concludes--as therefore it is unsafe to trust to the qualities of any individual animal1 male or female1 in improving stock1 the best bred and most perfect animals of both sexes should be selected and employed in propagation2 there being1 in short1 no other certain or equally efficacious means of establishing or preserving an eligible breed4 ,mr4 ,dallas1 in his essay1 starts with the idea that the seminal fluid of the male invests the ovum1 the formation of which he ascribes to the female2 and he supports the opinion1 that where external appearance is concerned1 the influence of the male will be discovered2 but in what relates to internal qualities1 the offspring will take most from the female4 ,he concludes thus3--,when color1 quality of fleece1 or outward form is wanted1 the male may be most depended on for these2 but when milk is the object1 when disposition1 hardiness1 and freedom from diseases of the viscera1 and1 in short1 all internal qualities that may be desired1 then the female may be most relied on4 ,one of the most valuable of these papers was written by the ,rev4 ,henry ,berry of ,worcestershire1 in which1 after stating that the question proposed is one full of difficulty and that the discovery of an independent quality such as that alluded to1 in either sex1 would be attended with beneficial results1 he proceeds to show1 that it is not to sex1 but to high blood1 or in other words1 to animals long and successfully selected1 and bred with a view to particular qualifications1 whether in the male or female parent1 that the quality is to be ascribed1 which the ,highland ,society has been desirous to assign correctly4 ,the origin of the prevalent opinion which assigns this power principally to the male1 he explains by giving the probable history of the first efforts in improving stock4 ,the greatest attention would naturally be paid to the male1 both on account of his more extended services1 and the more numerous produce of which he could become the parent2 in consequence of which sires would be well-bred before dams4 ,the ideas entertained respecting the useful qualities of an animal would be very similar and lead to the adoption of a general standard of excellence1 towards which it would be required that each male should approximate2 and thus there would exist among what may be termed fashionable sires1 a corresponding form and character different from1 and superior to1 those of the general stock of the country4 ,this form and character would in most instances have been acquired by perseverance in breeding from animals which possessed the important or fancied requisites1 and might therefore be said to be almost confirmed in such individuals4 ,under these circumstances1 striking results would doubtless follow the introduction of these sires to a common stock2 results which would lead superficial observers to remark1 that individual sires possessed properties as males1 which in fact were only assignable to them as improved animals4 ,the opinion entertained by some1 that the female possesses the power generally ascribed to the male1 he explains also by a reference to the history of breeding3 ,it is well known to persons conversant with the subject of improved breeding1 that of late years numerous sales have taken place of the entire stocks of celebrated breeders of sires1 and thus1 the females1 valuable for such a purpose1 have passed into a great number of hands4 ,such persons have sometimes introduced a cow so acquired to a bull inferior in point of descent and general good qualities1 and the offspring is known1 in many instances1 to have proved superior to the sire by virtue of the dam's excellence1 and to have caused a suspicion in the minds of persons not habituated to compare causes with effects1 that certain females also possess the property in question4 ,the writer gives various instances illustrative of his views1 in some of which the male only1 and in others the female only1 was the high-bred animal1 in all of which the progeny bore a remarkable resemblance to the well-bred parent4 ,he says1 that where both parents are equally well bred1 and of nearly equal individual excellence1 it is not probable that their progeny will give general proof of a preponderating power in either parent to impress peculiar characteristics upon the offspring2--yet in view of all the information we have upon the subject1 he recommends a resort to the best males as the most simple and efficacious mode of improving such stocks as require improvement1 and the only proceeding by which stock already good can be preserved in excellence4 ,mon4 ,giron#ag expresses the opinion that the relative age and vigor of the parents exercises very considerable influence1 and states as the results of his observation1 that the offspring of an old male and a young female resembles the father less than the mother in proportion as the mother is more vigorous and the father more decrepit1 and that the reverse occurs with the offspring of an old female and a young male4 ,among the more recent theories or hypotheses which have been started regarding the relative influence of the male and female parents1 those of ,mr4 ,orton1 presented in a paper read before the ,farmers' ,club at ,newcastle upon ,tyne1 on the ,physiology of ,breeding1 and of ,mr4 ,walker in his work on ,intermarriage1 as they both arrived to a certain extent1 at substantially the same conclusions by independent observations of their own and as these seem to agree most nearly with the majority of observed facts1 are deemed worthy of favorable mention4 ,the conclusions of ,mr4 ,orton1 briefly stated1#ah are1 that in the progeny there is no casual or haphazard blending of the parts or qualities of the two parents1 but rather that organization is transmitted by halves1 or that each parent contributes to the formation of certain structures1 and to the development of certain qualities4 ,advancing a step further1 he maintains1 that the male parent chiefly determines the external characters1 the general appearance1 in fact1 the outward structure and locomotive powers of the offspring1 as the framework1 or bones and muscles1 more particularly those of the limbs1 the organs of sense and skin2 while the female parent chiefly determines the internal structures and the general quality1 mainly furnishing the vital organs1 i4e41 the heart1 lungs1 glands and digestive organs1 and giving tone and character to the vital functions of secretion1 nutrition and growth4 ,not however that the male is without influence on the internal organs and vital functions1 or the female without influence on the external organs and locomotive powers of their offspring4 ,the law holds only within certain restrictions1 and these form as it were a secondary law1 one of limitations1 and scarcely less important to be understood than the fundamental law itself4 ,mr4 ,orton relies chiefly on the evidence presented by hybrids1 the progeny of distinct species1 or by crosses between the most distinct varieties embraced within a single species1 to establish his law4 ,the examples adduced are chiefly from the former4 ,the mule is the progeny of the male ass and the mare2 the hinny that of the horse and the she ass4 ,both hybrids are the produce of the same set of animals4 ,they differ widely1 however1 in their respective characters--the mule in all that relates to its external characters having the distinctive features of the ass1--the hinny1 in the same respects having all the distinctive features of the horse2 while in all that relates to the internal organs and vital qualities1 the mule partakes of the character of the horse1 and the hinny of those of the ass4 ,mr4 ,orton says--,the mule1 the produce of the male ass and mare1 is essentially a modified ass3 the ears are those of an ass somewhat shortened2 the mane is that of the ass1 erect2 the tail is that of an ass2 the skin and color are those of an ass somewhat modified2 the legs are slender and the hoofs high1 narrow and contracted1 like those of an ass4 ,in fact1 in all these respects it is an ass somewhat modified4 ,the body and barrel1 however1 of the mule are round and full1 in which it differs from the ass and resembles the mare4 ,the hinny1 on the other hand1 the produce of the stallion and she ass1 is essentially a modified horse4 ,the ears are those of a horse somewhat lengthened2 the mane flowing2 the tail bushy1 like that of the horse2 the skin is finer1 like that of the horse1 and the color varies also1 like the horse2 the legs are stronger and the hoofs broad and expanded like those of the horse4 ,in fact1 in all these respects it is a horse somewhat modified4 ,the body and barrel1 however1 of the hinny are flat and narrow1 in which it differs from the horse and resembles the she ass4 ,a very curious circumstance pertains to the voice of the mule and the hinny4 ,the mule brays1 the hinny neighs4 ,the why and wherefore of this is a perfect mystery until we come to apply the knowledge afforded us by the law before given4 ,the male gives the locomotive organs1 and the muscles are amongst these2 the muscles are the organs which modulate the voice of the animal2 the mule has the muscular structure of its sire1 and brays2 the hinny has the muscular structure of its sire1 and neighs4 ,in connexion with these examples ,mr4 ,orton refers to a special feature seen equally in the two instances1 and which seems at first sight1 a departure from the principle laid down by him4 ,it is this1 both hybrids1 the mule and the hinny take after the male parents in all their external characters save one1 which is size4 ,in this respect they both follow the female parents1 the mule being in all respects a larger and finer animal than its sire1 the ass2 the hinny being in all respects a smaller and inferior animal to its sire1 the horse1 the body and barrel of the mule being large and round1 those of the hinny being flat and narrow2 both animals being in these particulars the reverse of their respective sires1 but both resembling their female parents4 ,in explanation of this seeming exception is adduced a well known principle in physiology1 which is1 that the whole bony framework is moulded in adaptation to the softer structures immediately related to it2 the muscles covering it in the case of the limbs2 and to the viscera in that of the great cavities which it assists in forming4 ,accordingly1 in perfect accordance with the views above expressed1 the general size and form which must be mainly that of the trunk1 will be determined by the size and character of the viscera of the chest and abdomen1 and will therefore accord with that of the female parents by whom the viscera in question are chiefly furnished4 ,the foregoing are the most important of ,mr4 ,orton's statements4 ,he gives1 however1 numerous additional illustrations from among beasts1 birds and fishes1 of which we quote only the following3 ,the mule and the hinny have been selected and placed first1 because they afford the most conclusive evidence and are the most familiar4 ,equally conclusive1 though perhaps less striking instances1 may be drawn from other sources4 ,thus1 it has been observed that when the ,ancon or ,otter sheep were allowed to breed with common ewes1 the cross is not a medium between the two breeds1 but that the offspring retains in a great measure the short and twisted legs of the sire4 ,buffon made a cross between the male goat and the ewe2 the resulting hybrid in all the instances1 which were many1 were strongly characteristic of the male parent1 more particularly in the hair and length of leg4 ,curious enough1 the number of teats in some of the cases corresponded with those of the goat4 ,a cross between the male wolf and a bitch illustrates the same law2 the offspring having a markedly wolfish aspect2 skin1 color1 ears and tail4 ,on the other hand1 a cross between the dog and female wolf afforded animals much more dog-like in aspect--slouched ears and even pied in color4 ,if you look at the descriptions and illustrations of these two hybrids1 you will perceive at a glance that the doubt arises to the mind in the case of the first1 'what genus of wolf is this8' whereas in the case of the second1 'what a curious mongrel dog6' ,the views of ,mr4 ,walker in his work on ,intermarriage1 before alluded to1 agree substantially with those of ,mr4 ,orton1 so far as regards crossing between different breeds2 but they cover a broader field of observation and in some respects differ4 ,mr4 ,walker maintains that when both parents are of the same breed that either parent may transmit either half of the organization4 ,that when they are of different varieties or breeds 7and by parity of reasoning the same should hold1 strongly1 when hybrids are produced by crossing different species7 and supposing also that both parents are of equal age and vigor1 that the male gives the back head and locomotive organs and the female the face and nutritive organs--,i quote his language3 when both parents are of the same variety1 one parent communicates the anterior part of the head1 the bony part of the face1 the forms of the organs of sense 7the external ear1 under lip1 lower part of the nose and eye brows being often modified7 and the whole of the internal nutritive system1 7the contents of the trunk or the thoracic and abdominal viscera1 and consequently the form of the trunk itself in so far as that depends on its contents47 ,the resemblance to that parent is consequently found in the forehead and bony parts of the face1 as the orbits1 cheek bones1 jaws1 chin and teeth1 as well as the shape of the organs of sense and the tone of the voice4 ,the other parent communicates the posterior part of the head1 the cerebel situated within the skull immediately above its junction with the back of the neck1 and the whole of the locomotive system2 7the bones1 ligaments and muscles or fleshy parts47 ,the resemblance to that parent is consequently found in the back head1 the few more movable parts of the face1 as the external ear1 under lip1 lower part of the nose1 eyebrows1 and the external forms of the body1 in so far as they depend on the muscles as well as the form of the limbs1 even to the fingers1 toes and nails4 99 99 ,it is a fact established by my observations that in animals of the same variety1 either the male or the female parent may give either series of organs as above arranged--that is either forehead and organs of sense1 together with the vital and nutritive organs1 or back head1 together with the locomotive organs4 ,to show that among domesticated animals organization is transmitted by halves in the way indicated1 and that either parent may give either series of organs1 he cites among other instances the account of the ,ancon sheep4 ,when both parents are of the ,ancon or ,otter breed1 their descendants inherit their peculiar appearance and proportions of form4 ,when an ,ancon ewe is impregnated by a common ram1 the progeny resembles wholly either the ewe or the ram4 ,the progeny of a common ewe impregnated by an ,ancon ram follows entirely in shape the one or the other without blending any of the distinguishing and essential peculiarities of both4 ',frequent instances have occurred where common ewes have had twins by ,ancon rams2 when one exhibited the complete marks and features of the ewe and the other of the ram4 ,the contrast has been rendered singularly striking when one short legged and one long legged lamb produced at a birth have been sucking the dam at the same time4' ,as the short and crooked legs or those of opposite form1 here indicate the parent giving the locomotive system1 it is evident that one of the twins derived it from one parent and the other twin from the other parent2--the parent not giving it1 doubtless communicating in each case1 the vital or nutritive system4 ,where the parents are of different varieties or species1 ,mr4 ,walker says1 ,the second law1 namely1 that of ,,crossing1 operates where each parent is of a different breed1 and where1 supposing both to be of equal age and vigor the male gives the back head and locomotive organs1 and the female the face and nutritive organs4 ,after giving numerous illustrations from facts and many quotations from eminent breeders1 he says1 thus1 in crosses of cattle as well as of horses1 the male1 except where feebler or of inferior voluntary and locomotive power1 gives the locomotive system1 the female the vital one4 ,w4,c4 ,spooner1 ,v4,s41 one of the most eminent authorities of the present day on this subject1 and writing within the past year in the ,journal of the ,royal ,agricultural ,society1 says3--,the most probable supposition is1 that propagation is done by halves1 each parent giving to the offspring the shape of one half of the body4 ,thus the back1 loins1 hind-quarters1 general shape1 skin and size follow one parent2 and the fore-quarters1 head1 vital and nervous system1 the other2 and we may go so far as to add1 that the former in the great majority of cases go with the male parent1 and the latter with the female4 ,a corroboration of this fact is found in the common system of putting an ordinary mare to a thorough-bred horse2 not only does the head of the offspring resemble the dam but the forelegs likewise1 and thus it is fortunately the case that the too-frequently faulty and tottering legs of the sire are not reproduced in the foal1 whilst the full thighs and hind quarters which belong to the blood-horse are generally given to the offspring4 ,there is however a minority of cases in which the opposite result obtains4 ,that size is governed more by the male parent there is no great difficulty in showing2 familiar examples may be found in the pony-mare and the full sized horse1 which considerably exceed the dam in size4 ,again1 in the first cross between the small indigenous ewe and the large ram of another improved breed--the offspring is found to approach in size and shape very much to the ram4 ,the mule offspring of the mare also much resembles both in size and appearance its donkey sire4 ,these are familiar examples of the preponderating influence of the male parent1 so far as the external form is considered4 ,to show however that size and hight do not invariably follow the male1 we need go no further for illustration than the human subject4 ,how often do we find that in the by no means unfrequent case of the union of a tall man with a short woman1 the result in some instances is that all the children are tall and in others all short2 or sometimes that some are short and others tall4 ,within our own knowledge in one case1 where the father was tall and the mother short1 the children1 six in number1 are all tall4 ,in another instance1 the father being short and the mother tall1 the children1 seven in number1 are all of lofty stature4 ,in a third instance1 the mother being tall and the father short1 the greater portion of the family are short4 ,such facts as these are sufficient to prove that hight or growth does not exclusively follow either the one parent or the other4 ,although this is the case1 it is also a striking fact that the union of tall and short parents rarely1 if ever1 produces offspring of a medium size--midway1 as it were1 between the two parents4 ,thus1 in the breeding of animals1 if the object be to modify certain defects by using a male or female in which such defects may not exist1 we cannot produce this desired alteration2 or rather it cannot be equally produced in all the offspring1 but can only be attained by weeding out those in whom the objectionable points are repeated4 ,we are1 however1 of opinion that in the majority of instances1 the hight in the human subject1 and the size and contour in animals1 is influenced much more by the male than the female parent--and on the other hand1 that the constitution1 the chest and vital organs1 and the forehand generally more frequently follow the female4 ,dr4 ,carpenter1 the highest authority in ,physiology1 says it has long been a prevalent idea that certain parts of the organism of the offspring are derived from the male1 and certain other parts from the female parent2 and although no universal rule can be laid down upon this point1 yet the independent observations which have been made by numerous practical breeders of domestic animals seem to establish that such a tendency has a real existence2 the characters of the animal portion of the fabric being especially 7but not exclusively7 derived from the male parent1 and those of the organic apparatus being in like manner derived from the female parent4 ,the former will be chiefly manifested in the external appearance1 in the general configuration of the head and limbs1 in the organs of the senses 7including the skin7 and in the locomotive apparatus2 whilst the latter show themselves in the size of the body 7which is primarily determined by the development of the viscera contained in the trunk7 and in the mode in which the vital functions are performed4 ,on the whole it may be said that the evidence both from observation and the testimony of the best practical breeders goes to show that each parent usually contributes certain portions of the organization to the offspring1 and that each has a modifying influence upon the other4 ,facts also show that the same parent does not always contribute the same portions1 but that the order is reversed4 ,now1 as no operation of nature is by accident1 but by virtue of law1 there must be fixed laws here1 and there must also be1 at times1 certain influences at work to modify the action of these laws4 ,where animals are of distinct species1 or of distinct breeds1 transmission is usually found to be in accordance with the rule above indicated1 i4e4 the male gives mostly the outward form and locomotive system1 and the female chiefly the interior system1 constitution1 c4 ,where the parents are of the same breed1 it appears that the portions contributed by each are governed in large measure by the condition of each in regard to age and vigor1 or by virtue of individual potency or superiority of physical endowment4 ,this potency or power of transmission seems to be legitimately connected with high breeding1 or the concentration of fixed qualities obtained by continued descent for many generations from such only as possess in the highest degree the qualities desired4 ,on the other hand it must be admitted that there are exceptional cases not easily accounted for upon any theory1 and it seems not improbable that in these the modifying influences may be such as to effect what may approximate a reconstruction or new combination of the elements1 in a manner analogous to the chemical changes which we know take place in the constituents of vegetables1 as for instance1 we find that sugar1 gum and starch1 substances quite unlike in their appearance and uses1 are yet formed from the same elements and in nearly or precisely the same proportions1 by a chemistry which we have not yet fathomed4 ,whether this supposition be correct or not1 there is little doubt that if we understood fully all the influences at work1 and could estimate fairly all the data to judge from1 we might predict with confidence what would be the characteristics of the progeny from any given union4 ,practically1 the knowledge obtained dictates in a most emphatic manner that every stock-grower use his utmost endeavor to obtain the services of the best sires2 that is1 the best for the end and purposes in view--that he depend chiefly on the sire for outward form and symmetry--that he select dams best calculated to develop the good qualities of the male1 depending chiefly upon these for freedom from internal disease1 for hardihood1 constitution1 and generally for all qualities dependent upon the vital or nutritive system4 ,the neglect which is too common1 and especially in breeding horses1 to the qualities of the dam1 miserably old and inferior females being often employed1 cannot be too strongly censured4 ,in rearing valuable horses the dams are not of less consequence than the sires1 although their influence upon the progeny be not the same4 ,this is well understood and practiced upon by the ,arab1 who cultivates endurance and bottom4 ,if his mare be of the true ,kochlani breed he will part with her for no consideration whatever1 while you can buy his stallion at a comparatively moderate price4 ,the prevalent practice in ,england and ,america of cultivating speed in preference to other qualities1 has led us to attach greater importance to the male1 and the too common neglect of health1 vigor1 endurance and constitution in the mares has in thousands of cases entailed the loss of qualities not less valuable1 and without which speed alone is of comparatively little worth4 ,,footnotes3 #ag ,in his work1 ,de la ,generation1 ,paris1 #ahbh4 #ah ,quoted1 in part1 from a paper by ,alex4 ,harvey1 ,m4,d41 read before the ,medical ,society of ,southampton1 ,june #fth1 #ahed4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,sex4 ,with regard to the laws which regulate the sex of progeny very little is known4 ,many and extensive observations have been made1 but without arriving at any definite conclusions4 ,nature seems to have provided that the number of either sex produced1 shall be nearly equal1 but by what means this result is attained1 has not been discovered4 ,some physiologists think the sex decided by the influence of the sire1 others think it due to the mother4 ,sir ,everard ,home believed the ovum or germ1 previous to impregnation to be of no sex1 but so formed as to be equally fitted to become either male or female1 and that it is the process of impregnation which marks the sex and forms the generative organs2 that before the fourth month the sex cannot be said to be confirmed1 and that it will prove male or female as the tendency to the paternal or maternal type may preponderate4 ,mr4 ,t4,a4 ,knight#ai was of opinion that the sex of progeny depended upon the influence of the female parent4 ,he says1 ,the female parent's influence upon the sex of offspring in cows1 and ,i have reason to believe in the females of our other domestic animals1 is so strong1 that it may1 ,i think1 be pronounced nearly positive1 ,he also says1 ,i have repeatedly proved that by dividing a herd of thirty cows into three equal parts1 ,i could calculate with confidence upon a large majority of females from one part1 of males from another1 and upon nearly an equal number of males and females from the remainder4 ,i have frequently endeavored to change the habits by changing the male without success4 ,he relates a case as follows3--,two cows brought all female offspring1 one fourteen in fifteen years1 and the other fifteen in sixteen years1 though ,i annually changed the bull4 ,both however produced one male each1 and that in the same year2 and ,i confidently expected1 when the one produced a male that the other would1 as she did4 ,m4 ,giron1 after long continued observation and experiment1 stated with much confidence1 that the general law upon this point was1 that the sex of progeny would depend on the greater or less relative vigor of the individuals coupled4 ,in many experiments purposely made1 he obtained from ewes more males than females by coupling very strong rams with ewes either too young1 or too aged1 or badly fed1 and more females than males by a reverse choice in the ewes and rams he put together4 ,mon4 ,martegoute1 formerly ,professor of ,rural ,economy1 in a late communication to the ,journal ,d',agriculture ,pratique1 says that as the result of daily observations at a sheepfold of great importance1 that of the ,dishley ,mauchamp ,merinos of ,m4 ,viallet at ,blanc1 he has1 if not deceived1 obtained some new hints4 ,he states that ,giron's law developed itself regularly at the sheepfold in all cases where difference of vigor was observed in the ewes or rams which were coupled2 but he adds another fact1 which he had observed every year since #ahec1 when his observations began4 ,this fact consists-- ,first1 ,in that at the commencement of the rutting season when the ram is in his full vigor he procreated more males than females4 ,second1 ,when1 some days after1 and the ewes coming in heat in great numbers at once1 the ram being weakened by a more frequent renewal of the exertion1 the procreation of females took the lead4 ,third1 ,the period of excessive exertion having passed1 and the number of ewes in heat being diminished1 the ram also found less weakened1 the procreation of males in majority again commenced4 ,in order to show that the cause of such a result is isolated from all other influences of a nature to be confounded with it1 he gives the details of his observations in a year when the number of births of males and females were about equal4 ,he also goes on to say1 that1 at the end of each month all the animals at the sheepfold are weighed separately1 and thanks to these monthly weighings1 we have drawn up several tables from which are seen the diminution or increase in weight of the different animals classed in various points of view1 whether according to age1 sex or the object for which they were intended4 ,two of these tables have been appropriated to bearing ewes--one to those which have borne and nursed males and the other to those which have borne and brought up females4 ,the abstract results of these two tables have furnished two remarkable facts4 ,first1 ,the ewes that have produced the female lambs are1 on an average1 of a weight superior to those that produced the males2 and they evidently lose more in weight than these last during the suckling period4 ,second1 ,the ewes that produce males weigh less1 and do not lose in nursing so much as the others4 ,if the indications given by these facts come to be confirmed by experiments sufficiently repeated1 two new laws will be placed by the side of that which ,giron de ,bazareingues has determined by his observations and experiments4 ,on the one hand1 as1 at liberty1 or in the savage state1 it is a general rule that the predominance in acts of generation belongs to the strongest males to the exclusion of the weak1 and as such a predominance is favorable to the procreation of the male sex1 it would follow that the number of males would tend to surpass incessantly that of the females1 amongst whom no want of energy or power would turn aside from generation1 and the species would find in it a fatal obstacle to its reproduction4 ,but1 on the other hand1 if it was true that the strongest females and the best nurses amongst them produce females rather than males1 nature would thus oppose a contrary law1 which would establish the equilibrium1 and by an admirable harmony would secure the perfection and preservation of the species1 by confiding the reproduction of either sex to the most perfect type of each respectively4 ,,footnotes3 #ai ,philosophical ,transactions1 #ahji4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,in-,,and-,,in ,,breeding4 ,it has long been a disputed point whether the system of breeding in-and-in or the opposite one of frequent crossing has the greater tendency to maintain or improve the character of stock4 ,the advocates of both systems are earnest and confident of being in the right4 ,the truth probably is1 as in some other similar disputes1 that both are right and both wrong--to a certain extent1 or within certain limits4 ,the term in-and-in is often very loosely used and is variously understood2 some1 and among these several of the best writers1 confine the phrase to the coupling of those of exactly the same blood1 i4e4 brothers and sisters2 while others include in it breeding from parents and offspring1 and others still employ the term to embrace those of more distant relationship4 ,for the latter1 the term breeding in1 or close breeding1 is deemed more fitting4 ,the prevalent opinion is decidedly against the practice of breeding from any near relationships2 it being usually found that degeneracy follows1 and often to a serious degree2 but it is not proved that this degeneracy1 although very common and even usual1 is yet a necessary consequence4 ,that ill effects follow in a majority of cases is not to be doubted1 but this is easily and sufficiently accounted for upon other grounds4 ,in a state of nature animals of near affinities interbreed without injurious results1 and it is found by experience that where domesticated animals are of a pure race1 or of a distinct1 well defined and pure breed1 the coupling of those of near affinities is not so often followed by injurious effects as when they are crosses1 or of mixed or mongrel origin1 like the great majority of the cattle in the country at large4 ,in the latter case breeding in-and-in is usually found to result in decided and rapid deterioration4 ,we should consider also that few animals in a state of domestication are wholly free from hereditary defects and diseases1 and that these are propagated all the more readily and surely when possessed by both parents1 and that those nearly related are more likely than others1 to possess similar qualities and tendencies4 ,if such is to be regarded as the true explanation1 it follows that the same method would be also efficacious in perpetuating and confirming good qualities4 ,such is the fact2 and it is well known that nearly all who have achieved eminence as breeders1 have availed themselves freely of its benefits4 ,bakewell1 the ,messrs4 ,colling1 ,mr4 ,mason1 ,mr4 ,bates and others1 all practiced it4 ,mr4 ,bates' rule was1 breed in-and-in from a bad stock and you cause ruin and devastation1 they must always be changing to keep even moderately in caste2 but if a good stock be selected1 you may breed in-and-in as much as you please4#bj ,bakewell originated his famous sheep by crossing from the best he could gather from far or near2 but when he had obtained such as suited him1 he bred exclusively from within his own4 ,as in all breeding from crosses1 it was needful to throw out as weeds1 a large proportion of the progeny1 but by rigidly doing so1 and saving none to breed from but such as became more and more firmly possessed of the forms and qualities desired1 the weeds gradually became fewer1 until at length he fully established the breed2 and he continued it1 and sustained its high reputation during his life by in-breeding connected with proper selections for coupling4 ,after his death1 others1 not possessing his tact and judgment in making selections1 were less fortunate1 and in some hands the breed degenerated seriously1 insomuch that it was humorously remarked1 there was nothing but a little tallow left4 ,in others it has been maintained by the same method4 ,mr4 ,valentine ,barford of ,foscote1 has the pedigree of his ,leicester sheep since the day of ,bakewell1 in #aghc1 and since #ahaj1 he has bred entirely from his own flock1 sire and dam1 without an inter-change of male or female from any other flock4 ,he observes that his flock being bred from the nearest affinities--commonly called in-and-in breeding--has not experienced any of the ill effects ascribed to the practice4 ,w4,c4 ,spooner1 ,v4,s41 speaking of ,mr4 ,barford's sheep says1 ,his flock is remarkably healthy and his rams successful1 but his sheep are small4 ,mr4 ,charles ,colling1 after he procured the famous bull ,hubback1 selected cows most likely to develop his special excellencies1 and from the progeny of these he bred very closely4 ,from that day to this1 the ,short-horns as a general thing1 have been very closely bred1#ba and the practice has been carried so far1 the selections not always being the most judicious possible1 as to result in many cases in delicacy of constitution1 and in some where connected with pampering1 in sterility4#bb ,col4 ,jaques1 of the ,ten ,hills ,farm near ,boston1 imported a pair of ,bremen geese in #ahbb4 ,they were bred together till #ahcj1 when the gander was accidentally killed4 ,since then the goose bred with her offspring till she was killed by an attack of dogs in #aheb4 ,great numbers were bred during this time1 and of course there was much of the closest breeding1 yet there was no deterioration1 and in fact some of the later ones were larger and better than the first pair4 ,the same gentleman also obtained a pair of wild geese from ,canada in #ahah1 which with their progeny were bred from without change until destroyed by dogs with the above named in #aheb4 ,they continued perfect as at first4 ,among gregarious ruminating animals in a state of nature1 all who associate in a herd acknowledge a chieftain1 or head1 who maintains his position by virtue of physical health1 strength and general superiority4 ,he not only directs all their movements but is literally the father of the herd4 ,when a stronger than he comes1 the post of chieftain and sire is yielded1 but in all probability his successor is one of his own sons1 who in turn begets offspring by his sisters4 ,the progeny inheriting full health1 strength and development1 the herd continues in full power and vigor1#bc and does not degenerate as often happens when man assumes to make the selections1 and chooses according to fancy or convenience4 ,the continuance of health1 strength and perfect physical development is believed to depend on the wisdom of the selection1 upon the presence of the desirable hereditary qualities1 and the absence of injurious ones1 and not upon relationship whether near or remote4 ,it has fallen within the observation of most persons that in the human race frequent intermarriages in the same family for successive generations often tend to degeneracy of both mind and body2 size and vigor diminishing1 and constitutional defects and diseases being perpetuated and aggravated2 but neither in this case is the result believed to be a necessary and inevitable consequence4 ,else how could it be1 that ,infinite ,wisdom1 whose operations are ever in accordance with the laws of his own institution1 in originating a peculiar people1 chosen to be the depositories of intellectual and physical power1 wealth and influence1 and who1 in spite of oppression without parallel in the world's history1 have ever maintained the possession of a goodly share of all these1--would have allowed their first progenitor1 ,abraham1 to marry his near kinswoman ,sarah1 a half sister1 niece or cousin1 and ,isaac their son to wed his first cousin ,rebecca1 and ,jacob who sprang from that union1 to marry first cousins1 and their offspring for long generations to intermarry within their own people and tribes alone8 ,at a later period1 marriages within certain degrees of consanguinity were forbidden by ,divine authority1 but not until the peculiar race was fully established1 and so far multiplied1 as to allow departure from close breeding without change of characteristics1 and not improbably the prohibition was even then based more upon moral reasons1 or upon man's ignorance or recklessness regarding selection1 than upon physical law4 ,such laws exist among us at present1 and it is well they do1 inasmuch as for the reasons already given there is greater probability of degeneracy by means of such connections than among those not so related by blood4 ,but they present an instance of the imperfection of human laws1 it being impossible for any legal enactments to prevent wholly the evil thus sought to be avoided4 ,it would be better far1 if such a degree of physiological knowledge existed and such caution was exercised among the community generally1 as would prevent the contraction of any marriages1 where1 from the structure and endowments of the parties1 debility1 deformity1 insanity or idiocy must inevitably be the portion of their offspring whether they are more nearly related than through their common ancestor1 ,noah1 or not4 ,if we adopt ,mr4 ,walker's views1 it is easy to see how parents of near affinities may produce offspring perfect and healthy1 or the reverse4 ,he holds1 that to secure satisfactory results from any union1 there should be some inherent1 constitutional1 or fundamental difference2 some such difference as we often see in the human family to be the ground of preference and attachment2 as men generally prefer women of a feminine rather than a masculine type4 ,all desire1 in a mate1 properties and qualities not possessed by themselves4 ,now assuming as ,mr4 ,walker holds1 that organization is transmitted by halves1 and that1 in animals of the same variety1 either parent may give either series of organs1 we can see in the case of brother and sister that if one receives the locomotive system of the father and the nutritive system of the mother1 and the other the locomotive system of the mother and the nutritive system of the father1 they are essentially unlike1 there is scarcely any similarity between them1 although1 as we say1 of precisely the same blood2 and their progeny if coupled might show no deterioration2 whereas1 if both have the same series of organs from the same parents1 they would be essentially the same1 a sort of quasi identity would exist between them1 and they are utterly unfit to be mated4 ,there might be impotency1 or barrenness1 or the progeny1 if any1 would be decidedly inferior to the parents2 and the same applies1 more or less1 to other relatives descended from a common ancestry1 but more distant than brother and sister4 ,mr4 ,walker also holds that where the parents are not only of the same variety but of the same family in the narrowest sense1 the female always gives the locomotive system and the father the nutritive2 in which case the progeny is necessarily inferior to the parents4 ,a careful consideration of the subject brings us to the following conclusions1 viz3 ,that in general practice1 with the grades and mixed animals common in the country1 close breeding should be scrupulously avoided as highly detrimental4 ,it is better always to avoid breeding from near affinities whenever stock-getters of the same breed and of equal merit can be obtained which are not related4 ,yet1 where this is not possible1 or where there is some desirable and clearly defined purpose in view1 as the fixing and perpetuating of some valuable quality in a particular animal not common to the breed1 and the breeder possesses the knowledge and skill needful to accomplish his purpose1 and the animals are perfect in health and development1 close breeding may be practiced with advantage4 ,,footnotes3 #bj ,mr4 ,bates1 although eminent as a breeder1 was not infallible in making his selections1 and after long continued close breeding1 he was compelled to go out of his own herd to procure breeding animals4 #ba ,probably few who have not critically examined the facts regarding close breeding in the improved ,short-horns are aware of the extent to which it has been carried4 ,on the #bhth of ,march1 #ahfj1 at a sale of ,short-horns at ,milcote1 near ,stratford upon ,avon 7,england7 thirty-one descendants of a cow called ,charmer1 bred of ,mr4 ,colling's purest blood1 and praised in the advertisement as capital milkers and very prolific1 not having been pampered1 sold for #b1adj1 averaging about #cej each1 and many of them were calves4 ,the stock was also praised as offering to the public as much of the pure blood of ',favorite' as could be found in any herd4 ,with reference to this sale1 which also comprised other stock1 the ,agricultural ,gazette1 published a few days previous1 had some remarks from which the following is extracted3 ,it is unquestionable that the ability of a cow or bull to transmit the merit either may possess does in a great degree depend upon its having been inherited by them through a long line of ancestry4 ,nothing is more remarkable than the way in which the earlier improvers of the ,short-horn breed carried out their belief in this4 ,they were indeed driven by the comparative fewness of well bred animals to a repeated use of the same sire on successive generations of his own begetting1 while breeders now-a-days have the advantage of fifty different strains and families from which to choose the materials of their herd1 but whether it were necessity or choice it is certain that the pedigree of no pure bred ,short-horn can be traced without very soon reaching many an illustration of the way in which 'breeding in-and-in' has influenced its character1 deepened it1 made it permanent1 so that it is handed down unimpaired and even strengthened in the hands of the judicious breeder4 ,what an extraordinary influence has thus been exerted by a single bull on the fortunes of the ,short-horn breed6 ,there is hardly a single choice pure-bred ,short-horn that is not descended from ',favorite' 7#beb7 and not only descended in a single line--but descended in fifty different lines4 ,take any single animal1 and this bull shall occur in a dozen of its preceding generations and repeatedly up to a hundred times6 in the animals of some of the more distant generations4 ,his influence is thus so paramount in the breed that one fancies he has created it and that the present character of the whole breed is due the 'accidental' appearance of an animal of extraordinary endowments on the stage in the beginning of the present century4 ,and yet this is not so2--he is himself an illustration of the breeding in-and-in system--his sire and dam having been half brother and sister1 both got by ',foljambe4' ,and this breeding in-and-in has handed down his influence to the present time in an extraordinary degree4 ,take for instance1 the cow ',charmer1' from which as will be seen elsewhere1 no fewer than thirty-one descendants are to be sold next ,wednesday4 ,she had of course two immediate parents1 four progenitors in the second generation1 eight in the third1 sixteen in the fourth1 the number necessarily doubling each step farther back4 ,of the eight bulls named in the fourth generation from which she was descended1 one was by ',favorite4' ,she is one-sixteenth ',favorite' on that account1 but the cow to which he was then put was also descended from ',favorite1' and so are each of the other seven bulls and seven cows which stand on the same level of descent with the gr4 gr4 g4 dam of ',charmer4' ,and in fact it will be found on examination that in so far as ',charmer's' pedigree is known1 which it is in some instances to the sixteenth generation1 she is not one-sixteenth only but nearly nine-sixteenths of pure ,favorite blood4 ,this arises from ',favorite' having been used repeatedly on cows descended from himself4 ,in the pedigree of ',charmer' we repeatedly meet with ',comet'--',comet' was by ',favorite' and his dam ',young ,phoenix' was also by ',favorite2' with ',george'--',george' was by ',favorite' and his dam ',lady ,grace' was also by ',favorite2' with ',chilton'--',chilton' was by ',favorite' and his dam was also by ',favorite2' with ',minor'--',minor' was by ',favorite' and his dam also was by ',favorite2' with ',peeress'--she was by ',favorite' and her dam also by ',favorite2' with ',bright ,eyes'--she was by ',favorite' and her dam also by ',favorite2' with ',strawberry'--she was by ',favorite' and her dam by ',favorite2' ',dandy1' ',moss ,rose1' among the cows and ',north ,star' among the bulls are also of similar descent4 ,there is no difficulty therefore in understanding how this name appears repeatedly in any given generation of the pedigree of any given animal of the ,short-horn breed4 #bb ,journal ,royal ,agricultural ,society1 volume #bj1 page #big4 #bc ,it may be said with truth1 that the average health and vigor of a wild herd is much higher than it would be if the feebler portion of the young were reared1 as in a state of domestication1 instead of being destroyed by the stronger1 or perishing from hardship2 but if close breeding be1 of itself and necessarily1 injurious1 the whole herd should gradually fail1 which is not found to be the case4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,crossing4 ,the practice of crossing1 like that of close breeding1 has its strong and its weak side4 ,substantial arguments can be brought both in its favor and against it4 ,judiciously practiced1 it offers a means of procuring animals for the butcher1 often superior to and more profitable than those of any pure breed4 ,it is also admissible as the foundation of a systematic and well considered attempt to establish a new breed4 ,such attempts1 however1 as they necessarily involve considerable expense1 and efforts continued during a long term of years1 will be rarely made4 ,but when crossing is practiced injudiciously and indiscriminately1 and especially when so done for the purpose of procuring breeding animals1 it cannot be too severely censured1 and is scarcely less objectionable than careless in-and-in breeding4 ,the following remarks1 from the pen of ,w4,c4 ,spooner1 ,v4,s41 are introduced as sound and reliable1 and as comprising nearly all which need be said on the subject of crossing breeds possessing distinctive characteristics3 ,crossing is generally understood to refer to the alliance of animals of different breeds1 such as between a thorough-bred and a half-bred among horses or a ,south ,down and ,leicester among sheep4 ,now the advantages or disadvantages of this system depend entirely on the object we have in view1 whether merely to beget an animal for the butcher1 or for the purpose of perpetuating the species4 ,if the latter is the object1 then crossing should be adopted gradually and with care1 and by no means between distant or antagonistic qualities1 as for example a thorough-bred and a cart-horse4 ,the result of the latter connection is generally an ill-assorted and unfavorable animal1 too heavy perhaps for one purpose1 and too light for another4 ,if we wish to instil more activity into the cart-horse breed1 it is better to do so by means of some half-bred animal1 whilst the latter can be improved by means of the three-parts-bred horse and this again by the thorough-bred4 ,there is a remarkable tendency1 in breeding1 for both good qualities and bad to disappear for one or two generations1 and to reappear in the second and third2 thus an animal often resembles the grand dam more than the dam4 ,this peculiarity is itself an objection to the practice of crossing1 as it tends to prevent uniformity and to encourage contrarieties2 and thus we find in many flocks and herds that the hopes of the breeders have been entirely baffled and a race of mongrels established4 ,the first cross is generally successful--a tolerable degree of uniformity is produced1 resembling in external conformation the sire1 which is usually of a superior breed2 and thus the offspring are superior to the dams4 ,these cross-bred animals are now paired amongst each other1 and what is the consequence8 ,uniformity at once disappears2 some of the offspring resemble the grandsire1 and others the grandams1 and some possess the disposition and constitution of the one and some of the other2 and consequently a race of mongrels is perpetuated4 ,if1 however1 the cross is really a good and desirable one1 then1 by means of rigorous and continued selection1 pursued for several generations1 that is1 by casting aside1 as regards breeding purposes1 every animal that does not exhibit uniformity1 or possess the qualifications we are desirous of perpetuating1 a valuable breed of animals may in the course of time be established4 ,by this system many varieties of sheep have been so far improved as to become almost new breeds2 as for instance the ,new ,oxford ,downs which have frequently gained prizes at the great ,agricultural ,meetings as being the best long wooled sheep4 ,to cross1 however1 merely for crossing sake--to do so without that care and vigilance which we have deemed so essential--is a practice which cannot be too much condemned4 ,it is in fact a national evil and a sin against society1 that is1 if carried beyond the first cross1 or if the cross-bred animals are used for breeding4 ,a useful breed of animals may thus be lost1 and a generation of mongrels established in their place1 a result which has followed in numerous instances amongst every breed of animals4 ,the principal use of crossing1 however1 is to raise animals for the butcher4 ,in this respect it has not 7with sheep7 been adopted to the extent which it might to advantage4 ,the male being generally an animal of a superior breed and of a vigorous nature1 almost invariably stamps his external form1 size and muscular development on the offspring1 which thus bear a strong resemblance to him1 whilst their internal nature derived from the dam1 well adapts them to the locality1 as well as to the treatment to which their dams have been accustomed4 ,with regard to cattle1 the system cannot be so advantageously pursued 7except for the purpose of improving the size and qualities of the calf1 where veal is the object7 in as much as every required qualification for breeding purposes can be obtained by using animals of the pure breeds4 ,but with sheep1 where the peculiarities of the soil as regards the goodness of feed1 and exposure to the severities of the weather1 often prevent the introduction of an improved breed1 the value of using a new and superior ram is often very considerable1 and the weight of mutton is materially increased1 without its quality being impaired1 while earlier maturity is at the same time obtained4 ,it involves1 however1 more systematic attention than farmers usually like to bestow1 for it is necessary to employ a different ram for each purpose2 that is1 a native ram for a portion of the ewes to keep up the purity of the breed1 and a foreign ram to raise the improved cross-bred animals for fatting either as lambs or sheep4 ,this plan is adopted by many breeders of ,leicester sheep1 who thus employ ,south ,down rams to improve the quality of the mutton4 ,one inconvenience attending this plan1 is the necessity of fatting the maiden ewes as well as the wethers2 they may however be disposed of as fat lambs1 or the practice of spaying might be adopted1 so as to increase the fatting disposition of the animal4 ,crossing1 therefore1 should be adopted with the greatest caution and skill where the object is to improve the breed of animals2 it should never be practiced carelessly or capriciously1 but it may be advantageously pursued with a view to raising superior and profitable animals for the butcher4 ,in another paper on this subject1 after presenting many interesting details regarding ,british breeds of sheep and the results of crossing1 ,mr4 ,spooner says3 ,we cannot do better1 in concluding our paper1 than gather up and arrange in a collected form1 the various points of our subject1 which appear to be of sufficient importance to be again presented to the attention of our readers4 ,we think1 therefore1 we are justified in coming to the conclusions3 #ast4 ,that there is a direct pecuniary advantage in judicious cross-breeding2 that increased size1 disposition to fatten1 and early maturity1 are thereby induced4 #b;d4 ,that while this may be caused for the most part1 by the very fact of crossing1 yet it is principally due to the superior influence of the male over the size and external appearance of the offspring2 so that it is desirable1 for the purpose of the butcher1 that the male should be of a larger frame than the female1 and should excel in those peculiarities we are desirous of reproducing4 ,let it be here however1 repeated1 as an exceptional truth1 that though as a rule the male parent influences mostly the size and external form1 and the female parent the constitution1 general health and vital powers1 yet that the opposite result sometimes takes place4 #c;d4 ,certain peculiarities may be imparted to a breed by a single cross4 ,thus1 the ponies of the ,new ,forest exhibit characteristics of blood1 although it is many years since that a thorough-bred horse was turned into the forest for the purpose4 ,so1 likewise1 we observe in the ,hampshire sheep the ,roman nose and large heads1 which formed so strong a feature in their maternal ancestors1 although successive crosses of the ,south ,down were employed to change the character of the breed4 99 99 99 #dth4 ,although in the crossing of sheep for the purpose of the butcher1 it is generally advisable to use males of a larger breed1 provided they possess a disposition to fatten2 yet1 in such cases1 it is of importance that the pelvis of the female should be wide and capacious1 so that no injury should arise in lambing1 in consequence of the increased size of the heads of the lambs4 ,the shape of the ram's head should be studied for the same reason4 ,in crossing1 however1 for the purpose of establishing a new breed1 the size of the male must give way to other more important considerations2 although it will still be desirable to use a large female of the breed which we seek to improve4 ,thus the ,south ,downs have vastly improved the larger ,hampshires1 and the ,leicester the huge ,lincolns and the ,cotswolds4 #eth4 ,although the benefits are most evident in the first cross1 after which1 from pairing the cross-bred animals1 the defects of one breed or the other1 or the incongruities of both1 are perpetually breaking out--yet1 unless the characteristics and conformation of the two breeds are altogether averse to each other1 nature opposes no barrier to their successful admixture2 so that in the course of time1 by the aid of selection and careful weeding1 it is practicable to establish a new breed altogether4 ,this1 in fact1 has been the history of our principal breeds4 99 99 99 ,we confess that we cannot entirely admit either of the antagonistic doctrines held by the rival advocates of crossing and pure breeding4 ,the public have reason to be grateful to the exertions of either party2 and still more have they respectively reason to be grateful to each other4 99 99 99 99 ,let us conclude by repeating the advice that1 when equal advantages can be attained by keeping a pure breed of sheep1 such pure breed should unquestionably be preferred2 and that1 although crossing for the purpose of the butcher may be practiced with impunity1 and even with advantage1 yet no one should do so for the purpose of establishing a new breed1 unless he has clear and well defined views of the object he seeks to accomplish1 and has duly studied the principles on which it can be carried out1 and is determined to bestow for the space of half a life-time his constant and unremitting attention to the discovery and removal of defects4 ,the term crossing is sometimes used in a much more restricted sense1 as in the remark of ,mr4 ,boswell in his essay quoted on page #fi where he says1 ,when ,i praise the advantage of crossing ,i would have it clearly understood that it is only to bring together animals not nearly related but always of the same breed4 ,it is evident that such crossing as this is wholly unobjectionable2 no one but an avowed and ultra advocate of close breeding could possibly find any fault with it4 ,there is yet another style of crossing which when practicable1 may1 it is believed1 be made a means to the highest degree of improvement attainable1 and especially in the breeding of horses4 ,the word breed is often used with varying signification4 ,in order to be understood1 let me premise that ,i use it here simply to designate a class of animals possessing a good degree of uniformity growing out of the fact of a common origin and of their having been reared under similar conditions4 ,the method proposed is to unite animals possessing similarity of desirable characteristics1 with difference of breed2 that is to say1 difference of breed in the sense just specified4 ,from unions based upon this principle1 the selections being guided by a skillful judgment and a discriminating tact1 we may expect progeny possessing not only a fitting and symmetrical development of the locomotive system1 but also an amount and intensity of nervous energy and power unattainable by any other method4 ,such was in all probability the origin of the celebrated horse ,justin ,morgan2 an animal which not only did more to stamp excellence and impart value to the roadsters of ,new ,england than any other1 but was the originator of the only distinct1 indigenous breed of animals of which ,america can boast2--a breed which as fast and durable road horses and for any light harness work1 is not equalled by any other1 any where4 ,in the present state of our knowledge it is scarcely conceivable how an animal possessing the endowments of ,justin ,morgan could have originated in any other way than from such a parentage as above indicated4 ,on the other hand it is very certain that contrast in character1 as well as in breed1 has occasioned much of the disappointment of which breeders have had occasion to complain4 ,the principle here laid down is one of broad application1 and should never be lost sight of in attempts at improvement by crossing4 ,another point worthy special attention is that all crossing1 to insure successful results1 should be gentle rather than violent2 that is1 never couple animals possessing marked dissimilarity1 but endeavor to remedy faults and to effect improvement by gradual approaches4 ,harmony of structure and a proper balancing of desirable characteristics1 an equilibrium of good qualities1 as it has been happily expressed1 can be secured only in this way4 ,it may not be out of place here to say1 that much of the talk about blood in animals1 especially horses1 is sheer nonsense4 ,when a blood horse is spoken of1 it means1 so far as it means any thing1 that his pedigree can be traced to ,arabian or ,barbary origin1 and so is possessed of the peculiar type of structure and great nervous energy which usually attaches to thorough-bred horses4 ,when a bull1 or cow1 or sheep is said to be of pure blood1 it means simply that the animal is of some distinct variety--that it has been bred from an ancestry all of which were marked by the same peculiarities and characteristics4 ,so long as the term blood is used to convey the idea of definite hereditary qualities it may not be objectionable4 ,we frequently use expressions which are not strictly accurate1 as when we speak of the sun's rising and setting1 and so long as every body knows that we refer to apparent position and not to any motion of the sun1 no false ideas are conveyed4 ,but to suppose that the hereditary qualities of an animal attach to the blood more than to any other fluid or to any of the tissues of the body1 or that the blood of a high-bred horse is essentially different from that of another1 is entirely erroneous4 ,the qualities of an animal depend upon its organization and endowments1 and the blood is only the vehicle by which these are nourished and sustained2--moreover the blood varies in quality1 composition and amount1 according to the food eaten1 the air breathed and the exercise taken4 ,if one horse is better than another it is not because the fluid in his veins is of superior quality1 but rather because his structure is more perfect mechanically1 and because nervous energy is present in fitting amount and intensity4 ,for illustration1 take two horses--one so built and endowed that he can draw two tons or more1 three miles in an hour2 the other so that he can trot a mile in three minutes or less4 ,let us suppose the blood coursing in the veins of each to be transferred to the other2 would the draft horse acquire speed thereby1 or the trotter acquire power8 ,just as much and no more as if you fed each for a month with the hay1 oats and water intended for the other4 ,it is well to attend to pedigree1 for thus only can we know what are the hereditary qualities1 but it is not well to lay too much stress upon blood1 ,what matters it that my horse was sired by such a one or such a one1 if he be himself defective8 ,in breeding horses1 structure is first1 and endowment with nervous energy is next to be seen to1 and then pedigree--afterwards that these be fittingly united1 by proper selection for coupling1 in order to secure the highest degree of probability which the nature of the case admits1 that the offspring may prove a perfect machine and be suitably endowed with motive power4 ,the body of an animal is a piece of mechanism1 the moving power of which is the vital principle1 which like fire to the steam engine sets the whole in motion2 but whatever quantity of fire or vital energy may be applied1 neither the animal machine nor the engine will work with regularity and effect1 unless the individual parts of which the machine is composed are properly adjusted and fitted for the purposes for which they are intended2 or if it is found that the machine does move by the increase of moving power1 still the motion is irregular and imperfect2 the bolts and joints are continually giving way1 there is a continued straining of the various parts1 and the machine becomes worn out and useless in half the time it might have lasted if the proportions had been just and accurate4 ,such is the case with the animal machine4 ,it is not enough that it is put in motion by the noblest spirit or that it is nourished by the highest blood2 every bone must have its just proportion2 every muscle or tendon its proper pulley2 every lever its proper length and fulcrum2 every joint its most accurate adjustment and proper lubrication2 all must have their relative proportions and strength1 before the motions of the machine can be accurate1 vigorous and durable4 ,in every machine modifications are required according as the purposes vary to which it is applied4 ,the heavy dray horse is far from having the arrangement necessary for the purposes of the turf1 while the thorough-bred is as ill adapted for the dray4 ,animals are therefore to be selected for the individual purposes for which they are intended1 with the modifications of form proper for the different uses to which they are to be applied2 but for whatever purpose they may be intended1 there are some points which are common to all1 in the adjustment of the individual parts4 ,if the bones want their due proportions1 or are imperfectly placed--if the muscles or tendons want their proper levers--if the flexions of the joints be interrupted by the defectiveness of their mechanism1 the animal must either be defective in motion or strength2 the bones have irregular pressure1 and if they do not break1 become diseased2 if the muscles or tendons do not become sprained or ruptured1 they are defective in their action2 if friction or inflammation does not take place in the joints1 the motions are awkward and grotesque4 ,as in every other machine1 the beauty of the animate1 whether in motion or at rest1 depends upon the arrangement of the individual parts4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,breeding ,,in ,,the ,,line4 ,the preferable style of breeding for the great majority of farmers to adopt1 is neither to cross1 nor to breed from close affinities1 7except in rare instances and for some specific and clearly understood purpose17 but to breed in the line1 that is1 select the breed or race best adapted to fulfill the requirements demanded1 whether it be for the dairy1 for labor or for beef in cattle1 or for such combination of these as can be had without too great sacrifice of the principal requisite2 whether for fine wool as a primary object and for meat as a secondary one1 or for mutton as a primary and wool for a secondary object1 and then procure a pure bred male of the kind determined on1 and breed him to the females of the herd or of the flock2 and if these be not such as are calculated to develop his qualities1 endeavor by purchase or exchange to procure such as will4 ,let the progeny of these be bred to another pure bred male of the same breed1 but as distantly related to the first as may be4 ,let this plan be steadily pursued1 and although we cannot1 without the intervention of well bred females1 obtain stock purely of kind desired1 yet in several generations1 if proper care be given in the selection of males1 that each one be such as to retain and improve upon the points gained by his predecessor1 the stock for most practical purposes will be as good as if thorough-bred4 ,were this plan generally adopted1 and a system of letting or exchange of males established1 the cost might be brought within the means of most persons1 and the advantages which would accrue would be almost beyond belief4 ,the writer on ,cattle in the ,library of ,useful ,knowledge well remarks3--,at the outset of his career1 the farmer should have a clear and determined conception of the object that he wishes to accomplish4 ,he should consider the nature of his farm2 the quality1 abundance or deficiency of his pasturage1 the character of the soil1 the seasons of the year when he will have plenty or deficiency of food1 the locality of his farm1 the market to which he has access and the produce which can be disposed of with greatest profit1 and these things will at once point to him the breed he should be solicitous to obtain4 ,the man of wealth and patriotism may have more extensive views1 and nobly look to the general improvement of cattle2 but the farmer1 with his limited means and with the claims that press upon him1 regards his cattle as a valuable portion of his own little property1 and on which every thing should appear to be in natural keeping1 and be turned to the best advantage4 ,the best beast for him is that which suits his farm the best1 and with a view to this1 he studies1 or ought to study1 the points and qualities of his own cattle1 and those of others4 ,the dairyman will regard the quantity of milk--the quality--its value for the production of butter and cheese--the time that the cow continues in milk--the character of the breed for quietness1 or as being good nurses--the predisposition to garget or other disease1 or dropping after calving--the natural tendency to turn every thing to nutriment--the ease with which she is fattened when given up as a milker1 and the proportion of food requisite to keep her in full milk or to fatten her when dry4 ,the grazier will consider the kind of beast which his land will bear--the kind of meat most in demand in his neighborhood--the early maturity--the quickness of fattening at any age--the quality of the meat--the parts on which the flesh and fat are principally laid--and more than all the hardihood and the adaptation to the climate and soil4 ,in order to obtain these valuable properties the good farmer will make himself perfectly master of the characters and qualities of his own stock4 ,he will trace the connection of certain good qualities and certain bad ones1 with an almost invariable peculiarity of shape and structure2 and at length he will arrive at a clear conception1 not so much of beauty of form 7although that is a pleasing object to contemplate7 as of that outline and proportion of parts with which utility is oftenest combined4 ,then carefully viewing his stock he will consider where they approach to1 and how far they wander from1 this utility of form2 and he will be anxious to preserve or to increase the one and to supply the deficiency of the other4 ,he will endeavor to select from his own stock those animals that excel in the most valuable points1 and particularly those which possess the greatest number of these points1 and he will unhesitatingly condemn every beast that manifests deficiency in any one important point4 ,he will not1 however1 too long confine himself to his own stock1 unless it be a very numerous one4 ,the breeding from close affinities has many advantages to a certain extent4 ,it was the source whence sprung the cattle and sheep of ,bakewell and the superior cattle of ,colling2 and to it must also be traced the speedy degeneracy1 the absolute disappearance of the ,new ,leicester cattle1 and1 in the hands of many agriculturists1 the impairment of constitution and decreased value of the ,new ,leicester sheep and of the ,short-horns4 ,he will therefore seek some change in his stock every second or third year1 and that change is most conveniently effected by introducing a new bull4 ,this bull should be of the same breed1 and pure1 coming from a similar pasturage and climate1 but possessing no relationship--or1 at most1 a very distant one--to the stock to which he is introduced4 ,he should bring with him every good point which the breeder has labored to produce in his stock1 and if possible1 some improvement1 and especially in the points where the old stock may have been somewhat deficient1 and most certainly he should have no manifest defect of form2 and that most essential of all qualifications1 a hardy constitution1 should not be wanting4 ,there is one circumstance1 however1 which the breeder occasionally forgets1 but which is of as much importance to the permanent value of his stock as any careful selection of animals can be--and that is1 good keeping4 ,it has been well said that all good stock must be both bred with attention and well fed4 ,it is necessary that these two essentials in this species of improvement should always accompany each other2 for without good resources of keeping1 it would be vain to attempt supporting a valuable stock4 ,this is true with regard to the original stock4 ,it is yet more evident when animals are absurdly brought from a better to a poorer soil4 ,the original stock will deteriorate if neglected and half-starved1 and the improved breed will lose ground even more rapidly1 and to a far greater extent4 ,a very brief resum of the preceding remarks may be expressed as follows3 ,the ,law of ,similarity teaches us to select animals for breeding which possess the desired forms and qualities in the greatest perfection and best combination4 ,regard should be had not only to the more obvious characteristics1 but also to such hereditary traits and tendencies as may be hidden from cursory observation and demand careful and thorough investigation4 ,from the hereditary nature of all characteristics1 whether good or bad1 we learn the importance of having all desirable qualities and properties thoroughly inbred2 or1 in other words1 so firmly fixed in each generation1 that the next is warrantably certain to present nothing worse1--that no ill results follow from breeding back towards some inferior ancestor1--that all undesirable traits or points be1 so far as possible1 bred out4 ,so important is this consideration1 that in practice1 it is decidedly preferable to employ a male of ordinary external appearance1 provided his ancestry be all which is desired1 rather than a grade or cross-bred animal1 although the latter be greatly his superior in personal beauty4 ,a knowledge of the ,law of ,divergence teaches us to avoid1 for breeding purposes1 such animals as exhibit variations unfavorable to the purpose in view2 and to endeavor to perpetuate every real improvement gained2 also to secure as far as practicable1 the conditions necessary to induce or to perpetuate any improvement1 such as general treatment1 food1 climate1 habit1 c4 ,where the parents do not possess the perfection desired1 selections for coupling should be made with critical reference to correcting the faults or deficiencies of one by corresponding excellence in the other4 ,but to correct defects too much must not be attempted at once4 ,pairing those very unlike1 oftener results in loss than in gain4 ,mating a horse for speed with a draft mare1 will more likely beget progeny good for neither1 than for both4 ,avoid all extremes1 and endeavor by moderate degrees to obtain the object desired4 ,crossing1 between different breeds1 for the purpose of obtaining animals for the shambles1 may be advantageously practiced to considerable extent1 but not for the production of breeding animals4 ,as a general rule cross-bred males should not be employed for propagation1 and cross-bred females should be served by thorough-bred males4 ,in ordinary practice1 breeding from near relationships is to be scrupulously avoided2 for certain purposes1 under certain conditions and circumstances1 and in the hands of a skillful breeder1 it may be practiced with advantage1 but not otherwise4 ,in a large majority of cases 7other things being equal7 we may expect in progeny the outward form and general structure of the sire1 together with the internal qualities1 constitution and nutritive system of the dam2 each1 however1 modified by the other4 ,particular care should always be taken that the male by which the dam first becomes pregnant is the best which can be obtained2 also1 that at the time of sexual congress both are in vigorous health4 ,breeding animals should not be allowed to become fat1 but always kept in thrifty condition2 and such as are intended for the butcher should never be fat but once4 ,in deciding with what breeds to stock a farm1 endeavor to select those best adapted to its surface1 climate1 and degree of fertility2 also with reference to probable demand and proximity to markets4 ,no expense incurred in procuring choice animals for propagation1 or any amount of skill in breeding1 can supersede1 or compensate for1 a lack of liberal feeding and good treatment4 ,the better the stock1 the better care they deserve4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,characteristics ,,of ,,various ,,breeds4 ,the inquiry is frequently made1 what is the best breed of cattle1 sheep1 c41 for general use4 ,in reply it may be said that no breed can by any possibility fulfill all requirements in the best possible manner2 one is better for meat and early maturity1 another for milk1 another for wool1 and so on4 ,because under certain circumstances it may be necessary or advisable for a man to serve as his own builder1 tailor1 tanner and blacksmith1 it by no means follows that all which is required will be as well1 or as easily done1 as by a division of labor4 ,so it is better for many reasons1 and more profit can be made1 by employing different breeds for different purposes1 than by using one for all1 and towards such profitable employment we should constantly aim4 ,at the same time there is a large class of farmers so situated that they cannot keep distinct breeds1 and yet wish to employ them for different uses1 and whose requirements will best be met by a kind of cattle1 which1 without possessing remarkable excellence in any one direction1 shall be sufficiently hardy1 the oxen proving docile and efficient laborers for a while1 and then turn quickly into good beef upon such food as their farms will produce1 the cows giving a fair quantity and quality of milk for the needs of the family and perhaps to furnish a little butter and cheese for market4 ,before proceeding to answer the inquiry more definitely1 it may be well to remark further1 that among the facts of experience regarding cattle1 sheep and horses1 nothing is better established than that no breed can be transferred from the place where it originated1 and to which it was suited1 to another of unlike surface1 climate and fertility1 and retain equal adaptation to its new situation1 nor can it continue to be what it was before4 ,it must and will vary4 ,the influence of climate alone1 aside from food and other agencies in causing variation1 is so great that the utmost skill in breeding1 and care in all other respects1 cannot wholly control its modifying effects4 ,it is also pretty well established that no breed brought in from abroad can be fully as good1 other things being equal1 as one indigenous to the locality1 or what approximates the same thing1 as one1 which by being reared through repeated generations on the spot has become thoroughly acclimated2 so that the presumption is strongly in favor of natives4 ,when we look about us however1 we find1 if we except the ,morgan horses1 nothing which deserves the name of indigenous breeds or races4 ,the cattle and sheep known as natives are of mixed foreign origin1 and have been bred with no care in selection1 but crossed in every possible way4 ,they possess no fixed hereditary traits1 and although among them are many of very respectable qualities1 and which possess desirable characteristics1 they cannot be relied upon as breeders1 to produce progeny of like excellence4 ,instead of constancy1 there is continual variation1 and frequent breeding back1 exhibiting the undesirable traits of inferior ancestors4 ,that a breed might be established from them1 by careful selection continued during repeated generations1 aided perhaps by judicious crossing with more recent importations1 fully as good as any now existing1 is not to be doubted4 ,very probably1 a breed for dairy purposes might be thus created which should excel any now existing in ,europe1 for some of our so called native cows1 carelessly as they have been bred1 are not surpassed by any of foreign origin upon which great care has been expended4 ,to accomplish this is an object worthy the ambition of those who possess the skill1 enthusiasm1 ample means and indomitable perseverance requisite to success4 ,but except the single attempt of ,col4 ,jaques1 of the ,ten ,hills ,farm1 to establish the ,creampot breed1#bd of which1 as little has been heard since his death1 it is fair to presume that it has dropped into the level of common grade cattle1 no systematic and continued effort has come to our knowledge4 ,consequently such as may be deemed absolutely the best is a thing of the future2 they do not yet exist--and there is no probability that the desideratum will soon be attained4 ,we ,yankees are an impatient people2 we dislike to wait1 for any thing1 or to invest where five1 ten1 twenty or fifty years may be expected to elapse before satisfactory dividends may be safely anticipated4 ,still1 if all would begin to-day1 to use what skill and judgment they have1 or can acquire1 in breeding only from the best of such as they have1 coupling with reference to their peculiarities1 and consigning to the butcher as fast as possible every inferior animal1 and if1 in addition1 they would do what is equally necessary1 namely1 improve their general treatment as much as lies in their power1 there would result an immediate1 a marked and a steadily progressive improvement in stock4 ,to the acclimation or ,americanization already acquired1 would be added increased symmetry of form and greater value in many other respects4 ,this is within the power of every man1 and whatever else he may be obliged to leave undone1 for want of ability1 none should be content to fall short of this4 ,those who have the command of ample means will of course desire that improvement should be as rapid as possible4 ,they will endeavor at once to procure well bred animals1 or in other words1 such as already possess the desired qualities so thoroughly inwrought into their organization that they can rely with a good degree of confidence on their imparting them to their progeny4 ,it may be well to allude here to a distinction between breeds and races4 ,by breeds1 are understood such varieties as were originally produced by a cross or mixture1 like the ,leicester sheep for example1 and subsequently established by selecting for breeding purposes only the best specimens and rejecting all others4 ,in process of time deviations become less frequent and greater uniformity is secured2 but there remains a tendency1 greater or less in proportion to the time which elapses and the skill employed in selection1 to resolve itself into its original elements1 to breed back toward one or other of the kinds of which it was at first composed4 ,by races1 are understood such varieties as were moulded to their peculiar type by natural causes1 with no interference of man1 no intermixture of other varieties1 and have continued substantially the same for a period beyond which the memory and knowledge of man does not reach4 ,such are the ,north ,devon cattle1 and it is fortunate that attention was drawn to the merits of this variety before facilities for inter-communication had so greatly increased as of late1 and while yet the race in some districts remained pure4 ,all that breeders have done to better it1 is by selections and rejections from within itself2 and so1 much improvement has been effected without any adulteration4 ,consequently we may anticipate that so long as no crossing takes place1 there will be little variation4 ,among the established breeds of cattle the ,,improved ,,short-,,horns are the most fashionable1 and the most widely diffused2 and where the fertility of the soil1 and the climate1 are such as to allow the development of their peculiar excellencies1 they occupy the highest rank as a meat-producing breed4 ,their beef is hardly equal in quality to that of the ,devons1 ,herefords or ,scots1 the fat and lean being not so well mixed together and the flesh of coarser grain4 ,but they possess a remarkable tendency to lay on fat and flesh1 attaining greater size and weight1 and coming earlier to maturity than any other breed4 ,these properties1 together with their symmetry and stately beauty1 make them very popular in those counties of ,england1 where they originated1 and wherever else they have been carried1 provided their surroundings are such as to meet their wants4 ,in the rich pastures of ,kentucky and in some other parts of the west1 they seem as much at home as on the banks of the ,tees1 and are highly and deservedly esteemed4 ,the ,short-horns have also been widely and successfully used to cross with most other breeds1 and with inferior mixed cattle1 as they are found to impress strongly upon them their own characteristics4 ,without entering into the question of its original composition1 or of its antiquity1 regarding both of which much doubt exists1 it may suffice here to say1 that about a hundred years ago1 ,charles ,colling and others entered zealously and successfully into an attempt to improve them by careful breeding1 in whose hands they soon acquired a wide spread fame and brought enormous prices2 and the sums realized for choice specimens of this breed from that time to the present1 have been greater than for those of any other4 ,much of their early notoriety was due to the exhibition of an ox reared by ,charles ,colling from a common cow by his famous bull ,favorite1 and known as the ,durham ox1 and also as the ,ketton ox1 7both which names have since then been more or less applied to the breed1 but which are now mostly superceded by the original and more appropriate one of ,short-horn17 which was shown in most parts of ,england and ,scotland from #ahja to #ahjg1 and whose live weight was nearly four thousand pounds1 and which was at one time valued for purposes of exhibition as high as #aj1jjj4 ,the old ,teeswater cattle were remarkably deep milkers1 and although it does not appear that good grazing points necessarily conflict with excellence for the dairy1 the fact is1 that as improvement in feeding qualities was gained1 the production of milk in most cases fell off2 and although some families at the present time embrace many excellent milkers1 the majority of them have deteriorated in this respect about in proportion to the improvement effected as meat-producing animals4 ,the earlier ,short-horns introduced into this country were from the very best milking families1 and their descendants have usually proved valuable for dairy purposes--but many of those more recently imported are unlike them in this respect4 ,by crossing the males upon the common cows of the country the progeny inherited increased size and symmetry of form1 more quiet dispositions1 greater aptitude to feed and earlier maturity4 ,notwithstanding the prejudices with which they were at first received1 they gradually rose in estimation1 more of them have been introduced than of any other breed1 and probably more of the improvement which has taken place in cattle for the last forty years is due to them than to any other2 yet as a pure breed they are not adapted to ,new ,england wants4 ,their size is beyond the ability of most farms to support profitably3 crossed upon such as through neglect in breeding1 scanty fare and exposure were bad feeders1 too small in size1 and too slow in growth1 they effected great improvement in all these respects2 and this improvement demanded and encouraged the bestowal of more food and better treatment1 and so they prospered2--inheriting their constitutions chiefly from the hardy and acclimated dams1 the grades were by no means so delicate and sensitive as the pure bred animals to the cold and changes of a climate very unlike that of the mild and fertile region where they originated4 ,the lethargic temperament characteristic of the ,short-horn and which in the grades results in the greater quietness and docility so highly valued1 necessarily unfits them for active work2 pure bred animals being altogether too sluggish for profitable labor4 ,this temperament is inseparably connected with their aptitude to fatten and early maturity1 and these both demand abundant and nutritious food beyond the ability of many to supply and at the same time are incompatible with the activity of habit and hard service demanded of the working ox4 ,the ,,north ,,devons are deemed to be of longer standing than any other of the distinct breeds of ,england1 and they have been esteemed for their good qualities for several centuries4 ,mr4 ,george ,turner1 a noted breeder of ,devons1 describes them as follows3--,their color is generally a bright red1 but varying a little either darker or more yellow2 they have seldom any white except about the udder of the cow or belly of the bull1 and this is but little seen4 ,they have long yellowish horns1 beautifully and gracefully curved1 noses or muzzles white1 with expanded nostrils1 eyes full and prominent1 but calm1 ears of moderate size and yellowish inside1 necks rather long1 with but little dewlap1 and the head well set on1 shoulders oblique with small points or marrow bones1 legs small and straight and feet in proportion4 ,the chest is of moderate width1 and the ribs round and well expanded1 except in some instances1 where too great attention has been paid to the hind quarters at the expense of the fore1 and which has caused a falling off1 or flatness1 behind the shoulders4 ,the loins are first rate1 wide1 long and full of flesh1 hips round and of moderate width2 rumps level and well filled at the bed2 tail full near the rump and tapering much at the top4 ,the thighs of the cows are occasionally light1 but the bull and ox are full of muscle1 with a deep and rich flank4 ,on the whole there is scarcely any breed of cattle so rich and mellow in its touch1 so silky and fine in its hair1 and altogether so handsome in its appearance1 as the ,north ,devon1 added to which they have a greater proportion of weight in the most valuable joints and less in the coarse1 than any other breed1 and also consume less food in its production4 ,as milkers they are about the same as most other breeds2--the general average of a dairy of cows being about one pound of butter per day from each cow during the summer months1 although in some instances the very best bred cows give a great deal more4 ,as working oxen they greatly surpass any other breed4 ,they are perfectly docile and excellent walkers1 are generally worked until five or six years old1 and then fattened at less expense than most other oxen4 ,the author of the report on the live stock shown at the exhibition of the ,royal ,agricultural ,society at ,warwick in #ahei 7,mr4 ,robert ,smith7 says3 ,although little has been written on it1 the improvement of the ,devon has not been neglected2 on the contrary1 its breeding has been studied like a science1 and carried into execution with the most sedulous attention and dexterity for upwards of two hundred years4 ,the object of the ,devon breeder has been to lessen those parts of the animal frame which are least useful to man1 such as the bone and offal1 and at the same time to increase such other parts 7flesh and fat7 as furnish man with food4 ,these ends have been accomplished by a judicious selection of individual animals possessing the wished for form and qualities in the highest degree1 which being perpetuated in their progeny in various proportions1 and the selection being continued from the most approved specimens among these1 enabled the late ,mr4 ,francis ,quartly at length to fully establish the breed with the desired properties4 ,this result is substantially confirmed by the statistics contained in ,davy's ',devon ,herd-,book4' ,we have been curious enough to examine these pedigrees1 and find that nine-tenths of the present herds of these truly beautiful animals are directly descended 7especially in their early parentage7 from the old ,quartly stock4 ,later improvements have been engrafted on these by the ,messrs4 ,quartly of the present day4 ,the example of various opulent breeders and farmers in all parts of the country has tended to spread this improvement1 by which the ,north ,devon cattle have become more general and fashionable4 ,the leading characteristics of the ,north ,devon breed are such as qualify them for every hardship4 ,they are cast in a peculiar mold1 with a degree of elegance in their movement which is not to be excelled4 ,their hardihood1 resulting from compactness of frame and lightness of offal1 enables them 7when wanted7 to perform the operations of the farm with a lively step and great endurance4 ,for the production of animal food they are not to be surpassed1 and in conjunction with the ,highland ,scot of similar pretension1 they are the first to receive the attention of the ,london ,west-end butcher4 ,in the show-yard1 again1 the form of the ,devon and its rich quality of flesh serve as the leading guide to all decisions4 ,he has a prominent eye1 with a placid face1 small nose and elegantly turned horns1 which have an upward tendency 7and cast outward at the end7 as if to put the last finish upon his symmetrical form and carriage4 ,these animals are beautifully covered with silken coats of a medium red color4 ,the shoulder points1 sides1 and foreflanks are well covered with rich meat1 which1 when blended with their peculiar property of producing meat of first-rate quality along their tops1 makes them what they are--'models of perfection4' ,of course1 we here speak of the best-bred animals4 ,some object to the ,north ,devon1 and class him as a small animal1 with the remark1 ',he is too small for the grazier4' ,in saying this it should ever be remembered that the ,devon has its particular mission to perform1 viz41 that of converting the produce of cold and hilly pastures into meat1 which could not be done to advantage by large-framed animals1 however good their parentage4 ,the ,devons have been less extensively1 and more recently1 introduced than the ,short-horn1 but the experience of those who have fairly tried them fully sustains the opinions given above1 and they promise to become a favorite and prevailing breed4 ,the usual objection made to them by those who have been accustomed to consider improvement in cattle to be necessarily connected with enlargement of size1 is1 that they are too small4 ,but their size instead of being a valid objection1 is believed to be a recommendation1 the ,devons being as large as the fertility of ,new ,england soils generally are capable of feeding fully and profitably4 ,their qualities as working oxen are unrivalled1 no other breed so uniformly furnishing such active1 docile1 strong and hardy workers as the ,devons1 and their uniformity is such as to render it very easy to match them4 ,without possessing so early maturity as the ,short-horns1 they fatten readily and easily at from four to six years old1 and from their compact build and well balanced proportions usually weigh more than one accustomed to common cattle would anticipate4 ,the ,devons are not generally deep milkers but the milk is richer than that of most other breeds1 and some families1 where proper care and attention have been given to this quality in breeding1 yield largely4 ,it is1 however1 as a breed for general use1 combining beef1 labor and milk1 in fair proportion1 that the ,devons will generally give best satisfaction1 as they are hardy enough to suit the climate1 and cheaply furnish efficient labor and valuable meat4 ,farmers1 whose ideas upon stock have been formed wholly from their experience with ,short-horns and their grades1 have often been surprised at witnessing the facility with which ,devons sustain themselves upon scanty pasturage1 and not a few when first critically examining well bred specimens1 sympathize with the feeling which prompted the remark made to the reporter of the great ,english ,exhibition at ,chester1 after examining with him fine specimens of the ,devons--,i am delighted2 ,i find we ,short-horn men have yet much to learn of the true formation of animals2 their beautiful contour and extreme quality of flesh surprise me4 ,the ,,herefords are an ancient and well established breed1 and are probably entitled to be called a race4 ,little is known with certainty of their origin beyond the fact that for many generations they can be traced as the peculiar breed of the county whence they derive their name4 ,youatt says that ,mr4 ,culley1 although an excellent judge of cattle1 formed a very erroneous opinion of the ,herefords when he pronounced them to be nothing but a mixture of the ,welsh with a bastard race of ,long ,horns4 ,they are evidently an aboriginal breed1 and descended from the same stock as the ,devon4 ,if it were not for the white face and somewhat larger head and thicker neck it would not at all times be easy to distinguish between a heavy ,devon and a light ,hereford4 ,mr4 ,gisborne says ,the ,hereford brings good evidence that he is the ,british representative of a widely diffused and ancient race4 ,the most uniform drove of oxen which we ever saw1 consisted of five hundred from the ,ukraine4 ,they had white faces1 upward horns and tawny bodies4 ,placed in ,hereford1 ,leicester or ,northampton markets1 they would have puzzled the graziers as to the land of their nativity2 but no one would have hesitated to pronounce that they were rough ,herefords4 ,mr4 ,rowlandson1 in his prize report on the farming of ,herefordshire1 says ,the ,herefords1 or as they have sometimes been termed1 the middle horned cattle have ever been esteemed a most valuable breed1 and when housed from the inclemency of the weather1 probably put on more meat and fat in proportion to the food consumed1 than any other variety4 ,they are not so hardy as the ,north ,devon cattle1 to which they bear a general resemblance2 they however are larger than the ,devons1 especially the males4 ,on the other hand1 the ,herefords are larger boned1 to compensate for which defect1 may be cast in the opposite scale the fact that the flesh of the ,hereford ox surpasses all other breeds for that beautiful marbled appearance caused by the intermixture of fat and lean which is so much prized by the epicure4 ,the ,hereford is usually deeper in the chine1 and the shoulders are larger and coarser than the ,devon4 ,they are worse milkers than the ,devon1 or than1 perhaps1 any other breed1 for the ,hereford grazier has neglected the female and paid the whole of his attention to the male4 ,it is said that formerly they were of a brown or reddish brown color1 and some had grey or mottled faces4 ,mr4 ,p4 ,tully states that the white face originated accidentally on a farm belonging to one of his ancestors4 ,that about the middle of the last century the cow-man came to the house announcing as a remarkable fact that the favorite cow had produced a white faced bull calf4 ,this had never been known to have occurred before1 and1 as a curiosity it was agreed that the animal should be kept and reared as a future sire4 ,such1 in a few words1 is the origin of a fact that has since prevailed through the country1 for the progeny of this very bull became celebrated for white faces4 ,of late years there has been much uniformity of color2 the face1 throat1 the under portion of the body1 the inside and lower part of the leg's and the tip of the tail being white1 and the other parts of the body a rich deep red4 ,compared with the ,short-horn the ,hereford is nearly as large1 of rather less early maturity1 but a better animal for grazing1 and hardier4 ,the competition between these breeds in ,england is very close and warm1 and taking many facts together it would seem probable that the ,hereford is in some instances rather more profitable1 and the ,short-horn generally more fashionable4 ,challenges have been repeatedly offered by ,hereford men to ,shorthorn men to feed an equal number of each in order to test their respective merits1 and have usually been declined1 perhaps because if the decision was against them1 the loss might be serious1 and if they won1 the gain would be little or nothing1 the ,short-horns being more popular already and commanding higher prices4 ,as working oxen the ,herefords are preferable to the ,short-horns1 being more hardy and active4 ,some complaint is made of their being breachy4 ,their large frames demand food1 and if enough be furnished they are content1 but if not1 they have intelligence and activity enough to help themselves if food be within reach4 ,their chief merit is as large oxen1 for heavy labor1 and for beef4 ,some grade cows from good milking dams give a fair quantity of milk1 and what they give is always rich1 but wherever they have been introduced1 milking qualities generally deteriorate very much4 ,the ,,ayrshires are a breed especially valuable for dairy purposes4 ,regarding its origin1 ,mr4 ,aiton who felt much interest in the subject1 and whose opportunities for knowing the facts were second to those of no other1 writing about forty years since1 says1 ,the dairy breed of cows in the county of ,ayr now so much and so deservedly esteemed1 is not1 in their present form1 an ancient or indigenous race1 but a breed formed during the memory of living individuals and which have been gradually improving for more than fifty years past1 till now they are brought to a degree of perfection that has never been surpassed as dairy stock in any part of ,britain1 or probably in the world4 ,they have increased to double their former size1 and they yield about four and some of them five times as much milk as formerly4 ,by greater attention to breeding and feeding1 they have been changed from an ill-shaped1 puny1 mongrel race of cattle to a fixed and specific breed of excellent color and quality4 ,so gradually and imperceptibly were improvements in the breed and condition of the cattle introduced1 that although ,i lived in ,ayrshire from #agfj to #aghe1 and have traversed it every year since1 ,i have difficulty in stating from my own observation or what ,i have learned from others1 either the precise period when improvement began1 or the exact means by which a change so important was wrought4 ,he then relates several instances in which between #agfj and #aggj some larger cows were brought in of the ,english or ,dutch breeds1 and of their effect he says1 ,i am disposed to believe that although they rendered the red color with white patches fashionable in ,ayr1 they could not have had much effect in changing the breed into their present highly improved condition1 and thinks it mainly due to careful selections and better treatment4 ,mr4 ,aiton says the chief qualities of a dairy cow are that she gives a copious draught of milk1 that she fattens readily and turns out well in the shambles4 ,in all these respects combined the ,ayrshire breed excels all others in ,scotland1 and is probably superior to any in ,britain4 ,they certainly yield more milk than any other breed in ,europe4 ,no other breed fatten faster1 and none cut up better in the shambles1 and the fat is as well mixed with the lean flesh1 or marbled1 as the butchers say1 as any other4 ,they always turn out better than the most skillful grazier or butcher who are strangers to the breed could expect on handling them4 ,they are tame1 quiet1 and feed at ease without roaming1 breaking over fences1 or goring each other4 ,they are very hardy and active1 and are not injured but rather improved by lying out all night during summer and autumn4 ,since ,mr4 ,aiton wrote1 even greater care and attention has been paid to this breed than before1 and it is now well entitled to rank as the first dairy breed in the world1 quantity and quality of yield and the amount of food required being all considered4 ,compared with the ,jersey1 its only rival as a dairy breed1 the milk of the ,ayrshire is much more abundant1 and richer in caseine1 but not so rich in oily matter1 although better in this respect than the average of cows4 ,experience of their qualities in this country shows that if they do not here fully sustain their reputation in ,scotland1 they come near to it1 as near as the difference in our drier climate allows1 giving more good milk upon a given amount of food than any other4 ,upon ordinarily fertile pastures they yield largely and prove very hardy and docile4 ,the oxen too are good workers1 fatten well1 and yield juicy1 fine flavored meat4 ,the ,,jersey race1 formerly known as the ,aldernay1 is almost exclusively employed for dairy purposes1 and may not be expected to give satisfaction for other uses4 ,their milk is richer than that of any other cows1 and the butter made from it possesses a superior flavor and a deep rich color1 and consequently commands an extraordinary price in all markets where good butter is appreciated4 ,the ,jersey cattle are of ,norman origin1 and until within about twenty or thirty years were far more uninviting in appearance than now1 great improvement having been effected in their symmetry and general appearance by means of careful selections in breeding1 and this without loss of milking properties4 ,the cows are generally very docile and gentle1 but the males when past two or three years of age often become vicious and unmanageable4 ,it is said that the cows fatten readily when dry1 and make good beef4 ,there is no branch of cattle husbandry which promises better returns than the breeding and rearing of milch cows4 ,here and there are to be found some good enough4 ,in the vicinity of large towns and cities are many which having been culled from many miles around1 on account of dairy properties1 are considerably above the average1 but taking the cows of the country together they do not compare favorably with the oxen4 ,farmers generally take more pride in their oxen1 and strive to have as good or better than any of their neighbors1 while if a cow will give milk enough to rear a large steer calf and a little besides1 it is often deemed satisfactory4 ,,sheep4--,the sheep first introduced into this country were of ,english origin1 and generally not very dissimilar to the ancient unimproved ,down sheep4 ,probably some were these--as many of the first cattle were the ,devons of that day4 ,more than fifty years since the ,merinos were introduced and extensively bred4 ,at various periods other choice breeds have been introduced4 ,the number kept has fluctuated very much1 depending mainly on the market value of wool4 ,when it was high many kept sheep1 and when it fell the flocks were neglected4 ,the true mission of the sheep in fulfilling the threefold purpose of furnishing food1 and raiment1 and the means of fertilization1 seems not yet to be generally apprehended4 ,one of the most serious defects in the husbandry of ,new ,england at the present time1 is the prevalent neglect of sheep4 ,ten times the present number might be easily fed1 and they would give in meat1 wool and progeny1 more direct profit than any other domestic animal1 and at the same time the food they consume would do more towards fertilizing the farms than an equal amount consumed by any other animal4 ,it is notorious that our pastures have seriously deteriorated in fertility and become overrun with worthless weeds and bushes to the exclusion of nutritious grasses4 ,sheep husbandry has declined4 ,if these two facts as uniformly stand to each other in the relation of cause and effect1 as they certainly do in many instances1 the remedy is suggested at once--replace the animal with golden feet4 ,after devoting the best land to cultivation and the poorest to wood1 we have thousands upon thousands of acres evidently intended by the ,creator for sheep walks1 because better adapted for this purpose than for any other4 ,an indication of ,providence so unmistakable as this should not be unheeded4 ,the ,,merinos are perhaps the most ancient race of sheep extant4 ,they originated in ,spain1 and were for ages bred there alone4 ,in #agfe they were introduced into ,saxony1 where they were bred with care and with special reference to increasing the fineness of the wool1 little regard being paid to other considerations4 ,they were also taken to ,france and to ,silesia1 and from all these sources importations have been made into the ,united ,states4 ,the ,spanish ,merino has proved the most successful1 and by skill and care in breeding has been greatly improved1 insomuch that intelligent judges are of opinion that some of the ,vermont flocks are superior to the best in ,europe1 both in form1 hardiness1 quantity of fleece and staple4 ,they are too well known to require a detailed description here4 ,suffice it to say that they are below rather than above medium size1 possessing a good constitution1 and are thrifty1 and cheaply kept4 ,their chief merit is as fine wooled sheep1 and as such they excel all others4 ,as mutton sheep they are constitutionally and anatomically deficient1 being of late maturity and great longevity1 7a recommendation as fine wooled sheep17 having too flat sides1 too narrow chests1 too little meat in the best parts1 and too great a percentage of offal when slaughtered4 ,their mutton1 however1 is of fair quality when mature and well fatted4 ,as nurses they are inferior to many other breeds4 ,many careful1 extensive and protracted attempts have been made to produce a breed combining the fleece of the ,merino with the carcass of the ,leicester or other long wooled sheep4 ,they have all signally failed4 ,the forms1 characteristics and qualities of breeds so unlike seem to be incompatible with one another4 ,a cross of the ,merino buck and ,leicester ewe gives progeny which is of more rapid growth than the ,merino alone1 and is hardier than the ,leicester4 ,it is a good cross for the butchers' use1 but not to be perpetuated4 ,improvement in the ,merino should be sought by skillful selection and pairing the parents in view of their relative fitness to one another4 ,the ,,leicester1 or more properly the ,new ,leicester1 is the breed which ,bakewell established1 and is repeatedly referred to in the preceding pages4 ,it has quite superseded the old breed of this name4 ,his aim was to produce sheep which would give the greatest amount of meat in the shortest time on a given amount of food1 and for early maturity and disposition to fatten1 it still ranks among the highest4 ,the objections to the breed for ,new ,england are1 that they are not hardy enough for the climate1 and require richer pastures and more abundant food than most farmers can supply4 ,its chief value in such locations is for crossing upon ordinary sheep for lambs and mutton4 ,the ,,cotswolds derive their name from a low range of hills in ,gloucestershire4 ,these have long been noted for the numbers and excellence of the sheep there maintained1 and are so called from ,cote1 a sheepfold1 and ,would1 a naked hill4 ,an old writer says3--,in these woulds they feed in great numbers flocks of sheep1 long necked and square of bulk and bone1 by reason 7as is commonly thought7 of the weally and hilly situation of their pastures1 whose wool1 being most fine and soft1 is held in passing great account amongst all nations4 ,since his time1 however1 great changes have passed both upon the sheep and the district they inhabit4 ,the improved ,cotswolds are among the largest ,british breeds1 long wooled1 prolific1 good nurses1 and of early maturity4 ,more robust1 and less liable to disease than the ,leicesters1 of fine symmetry and carrying great weight and light offal1 they are among the most popular of large mutton sheep4 ,the ,,south ,,down is an ancient ,british breed1 taking its name from a chalky range of hills in ,sussex and other counties in ,england about sixty miles in length1 known as the ,south ,downs1 by the side of which is a tract of land of ordinary fertility and well calculated for sheep walks1 and on which probably more than a million of this breed of sheep are pastured4 ,the flock tended by the ,shepherd of ,salisbury ,plain1 of whose earnest piety and simple faith ,hannah ,more has told us in her widely circulated tract1 were ,south ,downs4 ,formerly these sheep possessed few of the attractions they now present4 ,about the year #aghb ,mr4 ,john ,ellman of ,glynde turned his attention to their improvement4 ,unlike his cotemporary ,bakewell1 he did not attempt to make a new breed by crossing1 but by attention to the principles of breeding1 by skillful selections for coupling and continued perseverance for fifty years1 he obtained what he sought--health1 soundness of constitution1 symmetry of form1 early maturity1 and facility of fattening1 and thus brought his flock to a high state of perfection4 ,before he began we are told that the ,south ,downs were of small size and ill shape1 long and thin in the neck1 high on the shoulders1 low behind1 high on the loins1 down on the rumps1 the tail set on very low1 sharp on the back1 the ribs flat1 c41 c41 and were not mature enough to fatten until three years old or past4 ,of his flock in #agid1 ,arthur ,young#be says3 ,mr4 ,ellman's flock of sheep1 ,i must observe in this place1 is unquestionably the first in the country2 there is nothing that can be compared with it2 the wool is the finest and the carcass the best proportioned2 although ,i saw several noble flocks afterwards which ,i examined with a great degree of attention2 some few had very fine wool1 which might be equal to his1 but then the carcass was ill-shaped1 and many had a good carcass with coarse wool2 but this incomparable farmer had eminently united both these circumstances in his flock at ,glynde4 ,i affirm this with the greater degree of certainty1 since the eye of prejudice has been at work in this country to disparage and call in question the quality of his flock1 merely because he has raised the merit of it by unremitted attention above the rest of the neighboring farmers1 and it now stands unrivalled4 ,this1 it will be noticed1 was only twelve years after he began his improvements4 ,to ,mr4 ,ellman's credit be it said that he exhibited none of the selfishness which characterized ,mr4 ,bakewell's career1 but was always ready to impart information to those desirous to learn1 and labored zealously to encourage general improvement4 ,that he was pecuniarily successful is evident from the continued rise in the price of his sheep4 ,the ,duke of ,richmond1 ,mr4 ,jonas ,webb1 ,mr4 ,grantham1 and other cotemporaries and successors of ,mr4 ,ellman have carried successfully forward the work so well begun by him4 ,the ,improved ,south ,downs now rank first among ,british breeds in hardiness1 constitution1 early maturity1 symmetry1 and quality of mutton and of wool combined4 ,the meat usually brings one to two cents per pound more than that of most other breeds in ,smithfield market4 ,it is of fine flavor1 juicy1 and well marbled4 ,the ,south ,downs are of medium size1 7although ,mr4 ,webb has in some cases attained a live weight in breeding rams of #bej pounds1 and a dressed weight of #bjj pounds in fattened wethers17 hardy1 prolific1 and easily kept1 succeeding on short pastures1 although they pay well for liberal feeding4 ,the ,,oxford ,,downs may be named as an instance of successful cross-breeding4 ,they originated in a cross between the ,improved ,cotswolds and the ,hampshire ,downs4#bf ,having been perpetuated now for more than twenty years1 they possess so good a degree of uniformity as to be entitled to the designation of a distinct breed1 and have lately been formally recognized as such in ,england4 ,they were first introduced into ,massachusetts by ,r4,s4 ,fay1 ,esq41 of ,lynn1 and into ,maine by ,mr4 ,sears1 both in #ahed4 ,they were first bred with a view to unite increased size with the superiority of flesh and patience of short keep which characterize the ,downs4 ,it is understood that they inherit from the ,cotswold a carcass exceeding in weight that of the ,downs from a fifth to a quarter2 a fleece somewhat coarser but heavier than that of the ,downs by one-third to one-half2 and from the latter they inherit rotundity of form and fullness of muscle in the more valuable parts1 together with the brown face and leg4 ,in reply to a note of inquiry addressed to ,mr4 ,fay1 he says3 ,i selected the ,oxford ,downs with some hesitation as between them and the ,shropshire ,downs1 after a careful examination of all the various breeds of sheep in ,england4 ,my attention was called to them by observing that they took1 7#ahed17 without any distinct name1 all the prizes as mutton sheep at ,birmingham and elsewhere1 where they were admitted to compete4 ,they were only known under the name of half or cross bred sheep1 with name of the breeder4 ,mr4 ,rives of ,virginia and myself went into ,oxfordshire to look at them1 and so little were they known as a class1 that ,philip ,pusey1 ,esq41 ,president of the ,royal ,agricultural ,society1 knew nothing about them1 although one of his largest tenants1 ,mr4 ,druce1 had long bred them4 ,it is only within two years that they were formally recognized at a meeting1 ,i believe1 of the ,smithfield club1 and they then received the name which ,i gave them years ago1 of ,oxford ,downs4 ,by this name they are now known in ,england4 ,i can only add that an experience of six years confirms all that is claimed for them4 ,fifty-two ewes produced seventy-three healthy lambs from ,february #acth to ,march #aeth1 this year4 ,the same ewes sheared an average of more than seven pounds to the fleece1 unwashed wool1 which sold for #cd cents per pound4 ,a good ram should weigh as a shearling from #ahj to #bej pounds2 a good ewe from #abe to #afj pounds4 ,they fatten rapidly1 and thrive on rough pasture4 ,my flock1 now the older and poorer ones have been disposed of1 will average1 ,i have no doubt1 eight pounds of wool to the fleece4 ,the mutton is exceedingly fine and can be turned into cash in #ah months from birth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the kind of sheep most desirable1 on the whole1 in any given case1 depends chiefly on the surface1 character and fertility of the farm and its location4 ,at too great a distance from a good meat market to allow of a profitable sale of the carcass1 the ,spanish ,merino is doubtless to be preferred1 but if nearer1 the ,english breeds will pay better4 ,mutton can be grown cheaper than any other meat4 ,it is daily becoming better appreciated1 and strange as it may seem1 good mutton brings a higher price in our best markets than the same quality does in ,england4 ,its substitution in a large measure for pork would contribute materially to the health of the community4 ,winter fattening of sheep may often be made very profitable and deserves greater attention1 especially where manure is an object--7and where is it not87 ,in ,england it is considered good policy to fatten sheep if the increase of weight will pay for the oil cake or grain consumed2 the manure being deemed a fair equivalent for the other food1 that is1 as much straw and turnips as they will eat4 ,lean sheep there usually command as high a price per pound in the fall as fatted ones in the spring1 while here the latter usually bear a much higher price1 which gives the feeder a great advantage4 ,the difference may be best illustrated by a simple calculation4 ,suppose a wether of a good mutton breed weighing #hj pounds in the fall to cost #f cents per pound 7#d4hj7 and to require #bj pounds of hay per week1 or its equivalent in other food1 and to gain a pound and a half each week1 the gain in weight in four months would be about #be pounds1 which at #f cents per pound would be #a4ej or less than #aj per ton for the hay consumed2 but if the same sheep could be bought in fall for #c cents per pound and sold in spring for #f cents1 the gain would amount to #c4ij or upwards of #bj per ton for the hay--the manure being the same in either case4 ,for fattening it is well to purchase animals as large and thrifty and in as good condition as can be done at fair prices2 and to feed liberally so as to secure the most rapid increase which can be had without waste of food4 ,the fattening of sheep by the aid of oil cake or grain purchased for the purpose1 may often be made a cheaper and altogether preferable mode of obtaining manure than by the purchase of artificial fertilizers1 as guano1 superphosphate of lime1 c4 ,it is practiced extensively and advantageously abroad and deserves at least a fair trial here4 ,,horses4--,it does not seem necessary in this connection to give descriptions of the various breeds of horses1 as comparatively few of our animals can fairly be said to be of any pure or distinct varieties4 ,names are common enough1 but the great majority of the horses among us are so mixed in their descent from the breeds which have been introduced at various times from abroad1 as to be almost as near of kin to one as to another4 ,success in breeding will depend far more upon attention to selection in regard to structure and endowments than to names4 ,although it may be somewhat beyond the scope of an attempt to treat merely of the principles of breeding to offer remarks regarding its practice1 a few brief hints may be pardoned2 and first1 let far more care be taken in respect of breeding mares4 ,let none be bred from which are too old1 or of feeble constitution1 or the subjects of hereditary disease4 ,no greater mistake can be made than to suppose that a mare fit for nothing else1 is worthy to be bred from4 ,if fit for this1 she is good for much else--gentle1 courageous1 of good action1 durable and good looking2 outward form is perhaps of less importance than in the male1 but serious defect in this greatly lessens her value4 ,she should be roomy1 that is the pelvis should be such that she can well develop and easily carry and deliver the foal4 ,youatt says1 it may1 perhaps1 be justly affirmed that there is more difficulty in selecting a good mare to breed from1 than a good horse1 because she should possess somewhat opposite qualities4 ,her carcass should be long to give room for the growth of the foetus1 yet with this there should be compactness of form and shortness#bg of leg4 ,the next point is the selection of a stallion4 ,it is easy enough to say that he should be compactly built1 having as much goodness and strength as possible condensed in a little space1 and rather smaller relatively than the mare1 that he should be of approved descent and possess the forms1 properties and characteristics which are desired to be perpetuated4 ,it is not very difficult to specify with tolerable accuracy what forms are best adapted for certain purposes1 as an oblique shoulder1 and depth1 rather than width1 of chest are indispensable for trotting2 that in a draft horse this obliquity of shoulder is not wanted1 one more upright being preferable1 and so forth2 but after all1 a main point to secure success is relative adaptation of the parents to each other1 and here written directions are necessarily insufficient and cannot supply the place of skill and judgment to be obtained only by careful study and practical experience2 nor is it always easy1 even if fully aware of the necessary requirements1 to find them in the best combination in the horses nearest at hand4 ,a stallion may be all which can be desired for one dam and yet be very unsuitable for another4 ,in this aspect we can perceive how valuable results may accrue from such establishments as now exist in various sections of the country1 where not a single stallion only is kept1 but many1 and where no pains nor expense are spared to secure the presence of superior specimens of the most approved breeds1 and choice strains of blood in various combinations2 so that the necessary requirements in a sire are no sooner fairly apprehended than they are fully met4 ,on this point therefore1 my suggestion is1 that this relative adaptation of the parents to one another be made the subject of patient and careful study2 and a word of caution is offered lest in the decisions made1 too great importance be attached to speed alone4 ,that speed is an element of value is not doubted1 nor do ,i intimate that he who breeds horses to sell1 may not aim to adapt his wares to his market as much as the man who breeds neat cattle and sheep1 or the man who manufactures furniture to sell4 ,but ,i do say that speed may be1 and often has been1 sought at too dear a rate1 and that bottom1 courage1 docility and action are equally elements of money value and equally worthy of being sought for in progeny4 ,nor is it unlikely that an attempt to breed for these last named qualities1 with a proper reference to speed1 would result in the production of as many fast horses as we now get1 and in addition to this1 a much higher average degree of merit in the whole number reared4 ,another suggestion may not be out of place4 ,hitherto 7if we except fast trotting7 there has been little attention paid to breeding for special purposes1 as for draft horses1 carriage horses1 saddle horses1 etc41 and the majority of people at the present time undoubtedly prefer horses of all work4 ,this is well enough so long as it is a fact that the wants of the masses are thus best met1 but it is equally true that as population increases in density and as division of labor is carried farther1 it will be good policy to allow the horse to share in this division of labor1 and to breed with reference to different uses2 just as it is good policy for one man to prepare himself for one department of business and another for another4 ,the same principle holds in either case4 ,sufficient attention has never been paid to the breaking and training of horses4 ,not one in a thousand receives a proper education4 ,it ought to be such as to bring him under perfect control1 with his powers fully developed1 his virtues strengthened and his vices eradicated4 ,what usually passes for breaking is but a distant approximation to this4 ,the methods recently promulgated by ,rarey and ,baucher are now attracting attention1 and deservedly too1 not merely for the immediate profit resulting from increased value in the subjects1 but in view of the ultimate results which may be anticipated2 for1 as we have seen when treating of the law of similarity1 acquired habits may in time become so inbred as to be transmissible by hereditary descent4 ,,footnotes3 #bd ,this was commenced by a cross of ,coelebs1 a ,short-horn bull1 upon a common cow of remarkable excellence4 #be ,annals of ,agriculture1 ,vol4 #aa1 p4 #bbd4 #bf ,the ,hampshires are somewhat larger than the ,south ,downs1 and quite as hardy--the fleece a trifle shorter4 ,the ,oxford ,downs are not to be confounded with the ,new ,oxfordshires4 #bg ,mr4 ,youatt here probably refers to length below1 rather than above1 the knee and hock4 99 99 99 99 99 ---------------------------------------- ------------------- ,typographical errors corrected in text3 ,page #cd3 maratime replaced with maritime ,page #ec3 analagous replaced with analogous ,page #aee3 suceeding replaced with succeeding ---------------------------------------- ------------------- 99 99 99 99 99