THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



199 



whatever of the lineage of sheep-dogs; but it is quite 

 new to me that Mr. Meynell Ingram's fox-hounds " are 

 much in-bred." It was said by the contemporaries of 

 his grandfather, that he bred too closely, and that he 

 iojured his pack by dointj so, but that was more than 

 sixty years ago. The late Mr. Meynell, whose good 

 taste and devotion to fox-hunting diffused the first rays 

 of venatic science over the aristocratic pasture fields of 

 Leicestershire, gave up his hounds and the Quorn coun- 

 try tu the Earl of Sefton of that day in 1802, after hav- 

 ing kept them about five-and-forty years. Many of 

 the hounds, or their descendants, became the property 

 of Mr. Heron master of the Cheshire, who sold his pack 

 eventually to the Duke of Rutland. Mr. Meynell In- 

 gram did not commence till the year 1816, consequently 

 there was an interregnum of fourteen years, during 

 which none of the family kept hounds. This new pack 

 was formed cliiefly of hounds from Mr. Talbot's ken- 

 nels, and there was subsequently an augmentation from 

 Mr. Heron's of hounds descended from the Quorn. It 

 is difficult to reconcile the idea that the present pack is 

 " much in-bred," as their kennel list of 1840, published 

 in " Vyner's Notitia Venatica," when they numbered 

 43^ couples, included 14 couple bred from hounds in 

 the Brooklesby, Belvoir, Badsworth, Mr. Foljambe's, 

 and the Berkeley kennels. A list of more recent date 

 represents 17 couple out of46j from similar sources, 

 with the addition of fresh infusions of blood from Sir 

 Tatton Sykes, the Atherstone, and the Cheshire kennels. 

 And as in-breeding of fox-hounds has been studiously 

 avoided by all masters of hounds, from the ruinous 

 effects it is known to produce, it appears the more 

 astounding when it is announced that Mr. Meynell In- 

 gram has adopted it with success. 



The term pure or thorough-bred is an expression not 

 clearly defined as regards any of our domestic animals, 

 but it would be very desirable to have some rule estab- 

 lished. It may be accepted as a principle, that breeding 

 from animals endowed with certain properties and per- 

 fections through several generations constitutes the 

 claim to the distinction ; but there is no adopted rule 

 to determine how many generations are sufficient to 

 establish the title. By way of illustration : any 

 half-bred female, mare or cow, put to a pure 

 bred male, the issue will be half-bred; that issue, sup- 

 posing it to be a female, being pregnant by a thorough- 

 bred male, will produce an offspring with one-fourth of 

 impurity, and carrying on this system to the tenth 

 generation, it will be reduced to l-1024th only of im- 

 purity. A general practice founded upon this system 

 might be adopted satisfactorily to breeders. The ad- 

 vantages which have arisen from the patronage bestowed 

 on the different varieties of pure-bred animals are 

 numerous and important. It is the means of bringing 

 into effect the judgment and experience of breeders, by 

 which animal organism is brought to the highest state of 

 perfection it is capable of approaching. 



Mr. CoUings, to whose stock the high-bred Short- 

 horns are traced, purchased the celebrated bull Hubback 

 in the year 1777, and his fame was established by the 

 production of a descendant known as the Durham Ox, 



and also the bull Comet, who was bred by the Messrs. 

 CoUings, and sold for 1,000 guineas. These gentlemen 

 resorted to the practice of breeding in-and-in to a con- 

 siderable extent, but tliey experienced the evil in want 

 of stamina, and the faculty of reproduction, when they 

 fell into an error by introducing a Galloway bull to some 

 of their best and most valuable cows. Rushing to such 

 an extreme the results were disappointing, and the 

 animals which had previously been bred from stock of a 

 similar character became contaminated. This could not 

 be obliterated for several generations, and that strain is 

 still in disrepute with many influential breeders of the 

 present day. These facts present two beacons : one, of 

 the ill consequences of excessive in-breeding ; the other, 

 that of crossing animals possessing essentially different 

 characteristics ; for although it may be admissible in 

 some cases, especially with sheep, for the purpose of 

 adapting the flock to certain localities, extremes must 

 be avoided. 



With breeders of cattle the object has been to estab- 

 lish a disposition to arrive at early maturity, combined 

 with aptitude to fatten, as productive of meat to supply 

 the enormous and increasing population. These have 

 been the chief efforts, and the property of producing 

 milk for dairy purposes has been sacrificed as relates to 

 the pure-bred varieties. It is established as a fact, that 

 the best quality of meat and the best quality of milk 

 are capable of being combined in one animal or breed ; 

 but the greatest amount of flesh-producing properties 

 and the faculty of secreting an excess of milk cannot 

 be obtained in the same animal. Shorthorns were said 

 to be celebrated, when the breed was first established, 

 as good milkers ; but since that period, by selecting 

 those evincing a disposition to fatten, and sup- 

 plying them with the most nutritive food, 

 generation after generation, they have, to a great 

 extent, lost their primitive character as milkers. This is 

 a subject worthy of attention. In the dairy countries it 

 is much felt, and there is no reason why a breed or race 

 should not be established, gifted with superior milk- 

 producing qualities as much as the existing breeds are 

 famed for feeding. 



Bulls of the pure breeds of cattle are admirably adapted 

 for improving the local breeds ; but judgment is neces- 

 sary, to make suitable selections, not only with regard 

 to the animals themselves, but also with respect to the 

 climate and properties of the district in which they are 

 produced. Extremes must be avoided, both of size, 

 constitution, and peculiarities. Crossing the Kyloes 

 with Shorthorns or Herefords could scarcely be fol- 

 lowed by good results ; the stature of the breeds are so 

 different ; also the propensity of the Shorthorns and 

 Herefords to fatten at an early age, while the Kyloes 

 being inhabitants of hilly and mountainous districts, they 

 require time to become fat, when they afford delicate re- 

 pasts for the most fastidious epicures. If any infusion 

 of pure blood from another variety with the Kyloes 

 could be desired, the Devons appear to be the most eligi- 

 ble, as more nearly assimilating in size, symmetry, and 

 habits ; each of them are produed in hilly countries, 

 though the temperature of their localities is widely dif- 



2 



