BREEDING 



BREHON LAWS. 



ttidsnt ha* rendered her unfit for work, to lure her covered by lome 

 TWT hkh-bnd lUllion, expecting to bar* a my tuparior f<Ml. Some- 

 time* thu nucoted*, but in general it endt in disappointment, especially 

 if the mere be nail. A much more certain way i* to cbooee a half- 

 bred itaUion, nearly ol the on of the mare, and having those good 

 which the mare already IHMMMBK. In thu caw there u every 

 |.rubabUity of rearing a well-proportioned and useful animal, instead 

 ..f a mm mad* one, aa the breeder* call them, probably from the 

 very circumstance of these man not succeeding in general. \\ < 

 advert to thU aa a fact which many of our reader* may know from 



1 

 To gi veil 



> give in a few word* the rule* which result from what we have 

 briefly atated : 



Choose the kind of animal you wish to breed from, having distin- 

 guishing qualities ; keep these constantly in view and reject all indi- 

 viduals in which they are not as perfect at least as in the parent*. 

 Select the moat perfect forms and let the defects be corrected gradually. 

 Have |tince and perseverance and avoid all attempts at any sudden 

 alteration by bold crosses. If possible, breed two or more families of 

 the same kind, keeping them distinct, and only occasionally crossing 

 the one with the other. In this manner a very improved breed may 

 be produced. The nearer you approach to perfection the more difficult 

 will be the selection, and the greater the danger of retrograding. Hence 

 in very highly bred stocks it is often almost impossible to keep up the 

 perfection of the breed, and a fluctuation in the quality of the produce 

 will take place. The more improved the breed U, therefore, the 

 greater attention must be paid in the selection of those which are to 

 ,-.io it. And for want of this, almost every breed, however 

 reputed it may have been at one time, gradually degenerates, and loses 

 its great superiority. 



We add on this subject the following passages extracted from a 

 lecture by Mr. S. Evans, M.R.C.V.S., lately (April, 1859) delivered 

 before the W unlock Farmer's Club. He said : 



The first great law of nature in breeding is, that like should 

 produce like ; but it must be accompanied in our mind with another 

 law, the law of variation. One of the causes of variation is what is called 

 ' breeding back.' It is often a source of disappointment to the breeder 

 that when he puts a well-formed female to a well-formed mole, he 

 get* an ill-formed colt or calf, and of quite a different colour to what 

 be expected. If you inquire into the pedigree of the parent* you 

 will find the child answering in every respect to the description of on 

 ancestor. It is this that makes many say that horse-breeding is a 

 lottery. However, if you breed properly you have little to fear. Pure 

 and thorough-bred "iml comparatively seldom breed back, or dis- 

 appoint their owners in doing so. By thorough-bred is meant those 

 whose ancestors were for a long time of the same shape, and adapted 

 for the same purpose as themselves. The more the animals have been 

 CTossed the more subject are they to breed back, and the more the 

 difference of shape in crossing the more likely is breeding bock to prove 

 a disappointment. This should make you very careful in breeding 

 stock, and to ascertain that not only the sire and dam are free from 

 spavin, curbs, Ac., but that their ancestors were not subject to any 

 hereditary affection, and not only that they were free from hereditary 

 evils, but that they possess the same good qualities, and ore adapted 

 for the same purpose as themselves. Now comes the vexed question, 

 Which has the predominating influence on the progeny, the mole or 

 the female parent ? If both parents join to form the child, does one 

 parent give one group of organs and the other parent another group; 

 or do both give all 1 



" It is not fair to look at one set of facto alone, and shut our eyes to 

 other*. It is by an impartial survey of them all that we get the truth. 

 There is an able article upon this subject in the ' Westminster Review,' 

 v. 1,:. h Mays that both parents are always represented in the offspring; 

 and although the male influence is sometimes seen to predominate in 

 one direction, and the female influence in another, yet thU direction is 

 by no means constant, is often reversed, and admits of no absolute 

 reduction to a known formula. 



" It is a common but silly question, Which breed of animals is the 

 beat for the farmer I Some advocate short-horns, others advocate the 

 long horns. 



" That breed of animals Is the most profitable which is best 

 adapted for that particular locality. One class does better on upland, 

 other* on lowland ; some do better grassing, others do better housed. 

 It aln depends upon the demand of the neighbouring markets. In 

 one parts cheese-making pays best; in other part* milk; in other 

 meat, Jtc. In some districts it pays better to breed draught 



, in others hackneys and hunters, in others racehorses, in other* 

 ponies, Ac. Every breed has Ha own peculiar conformation, and that 

 conformation you will find upon close investigation to bo peculiarly 

 well adapted for a particular purpose ; and when you adopt and 

 cultivate a certain breed, you must always keep that purpose and that 

 ccafnrmatioa steadily in view. If you lose the conformation, you will 

 soon to** the purpose. For instance, we may divide cattle into two 

 primary classes : 1, for fattening and arriving at early maturity ; 2, for 

 dairy purpose*. We may also divide hones into two primary classes: 

 to carry weight* on the back, and go fast ; and to draw weights after 

 them. It ia evident that they are destined for very different purposes, 

 and must set to work in a very different manner. There ia a peculiai 



shape adapted to perform any particular work, and it is essential that 



Jie young man should make himself thoroughly acquainted with those 

 Before he can be expected to be a successful breeder. Starting then 

 upon the groat law of nature, that like ]>roduoes like, and being 

 prepared to guard against variations by breeding from animals of the 

 nune sort, Ac., breeding good stock becomes a simple matter of course. 

 First ascertain what animals your land is best adapted for. Secondly, 

 what have the readiest sale in your markets. Thirdly, having decided 

 upon the purpose of your animal, study the best shape and conforma- 

 tion calculated to attain your object in a most perfect manner ; 

 wish to breed fat stock, study the shape most disposed to lay on fat 

 with the least food, and to arrive at early maturity ; if you wish to 

 breed milk cows, study the proper shapes for them ; if you breed 

 liorses, study the proper shapes to perform their various duties. 

 Fourthly, don't breed from an animal, whether male or female, whose 

 shape is not well adapted to perform the work it is intended for : let 

 them be of the most perfect shape you con get of their kind, Fifthly, 

 being acquainted with the law of breeding back, you will i 

 satisfied unless their ancestors were also of the same sort, and equally 

 apod ; in fact, thorough-bred, and free from hereditary evils. !( 

 ber the term thorough-bred may be equally well applied to the cart- 

 horse, or hunter, or pony, or carriage-horse, Ac. It means those 

 whose pedigree for a considerable time bock were of the same class, and 

 adapted for the same purpose as themselves. Unless you commence to 

 establish a new breed, you should never breed from a half-bred animal. 

 Let them all be castrated. There is too much risk connected with it ; 

 it is based upon a wrong principle ; you should carry the ri^'lit 

 principle out thoroughly. Why should yon breed from .1 lial 

 mare more than from a half-bred cow t Some may say that you have 

 no pure or thorough breeds, except racers ; therefore you ask how can 

 you avoid crossing. Well, ' It is never too late to mend.' By breeding 

 exclusively from animals of the some shape, and, therefore, adapted 

 for the same purpose, with careful attention to pedigree, you may 

 easily establish a breed for any purpose whatever." 



As every farmer and occupier of land is more or less a breeder, if lu- 

 be only a breeder of pigs, these observations may be useful. In tin- 

 articles on each j articular species of animal, these general prii 

 are applied and more particular directions are given. 



BREHON LAWS. The ancient laws of the Irish, so called from 

 being expounded by judges, named in the Irish language Bnithtam- 

 huin, or Brehons. ffineaehat however and Brcitha-ncimeadh, words 

 said to signify respectively ancient laws and sacred ordination-, an- tin- 

 terms commonly applied to the collection of these writings by the 

 native writers. 



Prior to the Anglo-Norman invasion, Ireland was wholly go\ 

 by the Brehonlaw; and, notwithstanding the statements of SIKH>. i, 

 Sir John Pavies, Cox, and others, that this was an unwritten and 

 barbarous code, there is abundant evidence to prove that some of the 

 collections of the Jireitha-ncimmilh ore of equal antiquity with the 

 oldest manuscripts of Irish history, whether civil or ecclesiastical, on 

 antiquity which carries us safely back to the earlier ages of the ( h' i - 

 tian tera. The extant collections ore numerous and authentic, but t he 

 labour of translating and methodising them, thovigh a most dehh.il>].> 

 service, has been long neglected. It is, however, now entrusted to the 

 very competent hands of Dr. John O'Donovon and Mr. Eugene Curry, 

 for whose labours during the last few years the British parliament 

 have voted considerable sums of money; and, when con 

 results ore to be printed. Nothing has yet appeared, but still we are 

 not altogether ignorant of what the Brehon laws were. The ' Km y 

 clopeedia Britannica,' under the head 'Brehon Laws.' published in 

 1854, says, " there are, it is said, in Ireland, ancient MSS., the publi- 

 cation of which would throw light on this curious and interesting 

 subject. Till such elucidation be afforded, of which some prospect is 

 held out, it were useless to hazard opinions on the character and value 

 of the Brehon Laws as a system of jurisprudence." The " it is said " 

 is somewhat disingenuous, when an elaborate article on the subject 

 had appeared in the 'Penny Cyclopaedia' in 1836. That article we 

 now reproduce. Within our limits, of course, it is not possible to do 

 more than give such on outline of the social system of the old Irish 

 under these laws aa their available fragments, compared with the general 

 history of the country, would point out to the reader of the various 

 accessible authorities on the subject. 



Tie- present division of Ireland into provinces, counties, baronies, 

 and townlands, would appear to correspond pretty nearly with thr old 

 territorial distinctions of minor kingships, lordships of countries, chief- 

 ries of clans, and presidencies (if we may use the term) of village* : all 

 subject to the dominion of the Ard High, or supreme king, and tribu- 

 tary, one to another, among themselves. 



The law governing this community is distinguishable into the com- 

 mon and, so to speak, the statute law. And, first, as to the common 

 law, or immemorial custom of the country, our information is neces- 

 sarily scanty, as being derived chiefly from the reference mode to nm -li 

 usage* in the remaining fragments of the written law ; for at this day 

 there remains scarce any oral tradition available on this nub: 

 Ireland. The constitution of the bulk of society in ancient Ireland 

 was patriarchal and pastoral. By the common law of the tribes, the 

 ground belonging to each seems to have been divided into common 

 pasture lands, common tillage lands, private demesne lands, and 



