244 [Senate 



vegetable world, that " like produces likeP This, though a truth in 

 a general sense, is not strictly so 'vaz particular sense — if it were, all 

 animals of the same general family or race, would be exactly alike. 

 For an illustration of this idea, suppose we take a given number of 

 animals of any species, breed them together, and rear their progeny. 

 We do not find an exact resemblance among them, nor do they ex- 

 actly resemble either of the parents, or any of their progenitors. 

 Some of the offspring may not possess as many good points as their 

 progenitors had, and occasionally some may be found with more. 

 There is a variation, but still there is a general resemblance. Now 

 if we select from the offspring of our first named animals, some which 

 are actually oetter than their progenitors, and breed from them, al- 

 ways bestowing proper attention, we may have some among their 

 progeny also, which will exhibit the same superiority over the parents 

 that was mentioned in the first instance. If we select the best from 

 these again, and go on as before, we obtain the same results — we may 

 still have a few superior ones — and thus by attending for many gene- 

 rations to these rules in selecting, a general, fixed and permanent im- 

 provement is effected. 



But it should not be supposed that the superiority of offspring to 

 parents, which has been spoken of, is frequently to be expected ; on 

 the contrary, such superiority is rare, especially in those breeds which 

 have derived their excellence chiefly from the art of man — in such 

 cases a progeny is more likely to be inferior than superior — neverthe- 

 less, that superiority is sometimes found; and experience has proved 

 that if such animals as possess it are chosen for propagation, those 

 superior points, though in their first development they may seem to 

 have been only an accidental deviation from general laws, may be 

 perpetuated in the future progeny — may be transfused through a larg- 

 er number of animals, and other improvements added in succeeding 

 generations. 



• The principle then is this— -that like begets like in a general sense — 

 that there are some variations within this rule, which, when seized 

 on, constitute the basis, under proper management, of new and im- 

 proved varieties. That particular qualities in animals, though appa- 

 rently accidental at first, may become fixed and hereditary, (coming 

 under the general principle that like begets like,) by the exercise of 

 care and skill in selection and breeding. 



It is by having acted on this principle, that improvement in breed- 

 ing domestic animals has been chiefly effected. 



But it is impossible to lay down rules for selecting and breeding, 

 so minutely that they will infallibly lead every one who undertakes 

 to follow them to the desired point of improvement. To be able to 

 select the best animals for particular purposes, requires a nicety of 

 discrimination which can only be acquired by a long course of the 

 closest observation and a habit of comparing different animals, united 

 with a natural taste for the subject, and a thorough understanding of 

 its principles. Such is the attention, study and observation, that is 

 necessary to constitute a successful breeder, that few men have hith- 



