504 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



would answer the purpose. When a few cows 

 were selected on account of the superior stock they 

 produced, their calves alone should be reared, and 

 then with a good bull and care in management 

 there was no fear of ihe result. In a herd pro- 

 duced in this manner, the cattle would singularly 

 resemble one another, so that it was hardly possible 

 to recognise one steer from another, or to decide 

 which was the best. He believed cattle were sus- 

 ceptible of unlimited improvement. Their aim 

 should be to secure the form which presented the 

 choicest pieces of meat in the greatest quantity, and 

 to fix upon those animals which would put flesh 

 on those points most readily. 



Mr. J. L. Phillips said that for the most part 

 he concurred in the principles which Mr. 

 Buckley had set forth, but there were one or two 

 points which he did not agree with. The first was 

 the advantage of breeding in-and-in. He could 

 not see there was any advantage or necessity for 

 doing so in the present day. It was true good 

 animals were sometimes produced in that way, but 

 the practice was bad and opposed to the universal 

 law of nature. Besides, they could obtain a 

 suflScient variety of animals of any breed to avoid 

 in-and-in breeding. The laws of consanguinity 

 must be observed, and if they were not, many ill 

 consequences would follow. History revealed to 

 them the penalties attached to an infringement of 

 these laws on the decay of the regal families of 

 Europe. These families were no doubt atone time 

 famed for physical and mental excellences, but 

 now they are a degenerate race, characterised by 

 bodily and intellectual weakness. And so it was 

 amongst animals. He knew a man farming 150 

 acres, who had a boar which produced monstrosities 

 from breeding in-and-in. The young litters were 

 all legs and ears. The same man kept a ram for 

 breeding in-and-in, and the sheep produced were 

 miserable creatures. Some years ago he himself 

 had a boar which he so used, and the litter she 

 brought was large, but they could not walk, and 

 every one of them died. He did not at that time 

 understand why the young pigs were so puny and 

 weak. So he bred again, determined if possible to 

 solve the problem. The next litter consisted of 

 only two miserable creatures, which soon died. 

 He tried once more, with the same result — the litter 

 moving about for a short time with their snouts to 

 the ground, and then died. Here were facts con- 

 demnatory of in-and-in breeding. He tried a 

 similar experiment with sheep, and the lambs in 

 not a single instance survived the winter. Why 

 not, then, adopt the correct principle in breeding 

 stock — selecting the best animals inform, strength, 

 bulk, and blood. Much depends, indeed all de- 

 pends upon the exercise of a sound judgment. 

 But it was of no use to have a good breed of 

 animals unless they had plenty of suitable fodder. 

 Many farmers neglected the proper feeding of their 

 stock, and what could they then expect ? Good 

 animals and nutritious fodder must go together. 

 In fixing upon an animal they should select that 

 sort which had those points to perfection which are 

 most esteemed for the table— small head, short legs, 

 and small bone, points which should not be dis- 

 regarded. Then it was necessary to see that the 



animal attained an early maturity, had a fine skin 

 and a mellow touch, indicative of a tendency to put 

 on flesh. As to horses, the main points are mus- 

 cular activity and a vigorous constitution. 



Mr. Mark said his knowledge and experience 

 confirmed the principles which Mr. Buckley ad- 

 vocated. He paid considerable attention to the 

 breeding of stock, and being a native of Aberdeen- 

 shire and all his life a farmer, he ought to know 

 something of the subject. He advised the farmers 

 of this county to spend an occasional holiday in 

 Aberdeenshire, for there they would see in practice 

 what the lecturer inculcated. He believed a really 

 good breed cannot be produced by crossing, the 

 cattle would sooner or later revert to the original 

 style. Many farmers with every advantage in their 

 favour had tried to do so, but they had signally 

 failed. A first-rate herd of cattle could only be 

 obtained from a few well-selected animals. Mr. 

 Phillips's objection to breeding in-and-in did not 

 apply to cattle, and the parallel he had drawn be- 

 tween animals and man was fallacious ; nor did it 

 apply to Mr. Buckley's theory, for he specially 

 reserved the human race. Still the in-and-in 

 system was not at all times to be practised, but it 

 was sometimes indispensable. He thought there 

 were very few pure shorthorns in this county — not 

 half-a-dozen so far as he knew, and that being the 

 case how were the farmers to get a pure herd ? 



Mr. W. E. GwYN did not approve of crossing, 

 nor was it necessary to cross, as the pure animal 

 was susceptible of the highest improvement. The 

 way to cultivate a good and profitable herd of 

 cattle was, in the first place, to select some well- 

 looking cows without reference to breed, and put 

 them to a pure-bred bull. Now by keeping such 

 a bull and by proper selection, any farmer might 

 in say ten or twelve years obtain a really fine and 

 paying herd. The farmers in this county could 

 not in any other way improve their stock ; they had 

 neither capital nor disposition to invest in the pur- 

 chase of an entire herd of pure stock, but in the 

 way he had described it could be done with profit, 

 which was, after all, the main thing. With respect 

 to in-and-in breeding he fully concurred with Mr. 

 Buckley, and wholly dissented from Mr. Phillips. 

 His practice was when he got a good animal'touse 

 him. The boar Mr. Phillips had referred to 

 ought not to have been so used— that was ob- 

 jectionable. A sire might be put to his progeny 

 with advantage. He knew instances of some of 

 the finest breeds in the country being bred in-and- 

 in for eight or ten generations. He had a case in 

 his mind — a bull being used by his progeny for 

 four generations, and indeed the very best animals 

 were bred in that way. The ordinary rule was, put 

 a sire to his progeny, but never otherwise. That 

 was the practice adopted by the most famous 

 breeders. Mr. Bakewell, whose flock of sheep was 

 unrivalled, bred in-and-in, having introduced no 

 fresh blood for more than forty years, and yet he 

 took all the prizes, and what was more, those who 

 bred from his stock were equally successful. How- 

 ever, in breeding in-and-in, great care and judg- 

 ment were indispensable. Well, then, with regard 

 to the black cattle he would observe that this breed 

 was capable of immense improvement. They never 



