GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. 591 



purer or less mixed the breed, the more likely it is to be transmitted 

 to the offspring. Hence, whichever parent is of the pure blood will 

 be more generally represented in the offspring; but as the male is 

 usually more care'fully selected and of purer blood than the female, 

 it generally follows that the male exerts more influence than the 

 female, the reverse being the case when the female is of more 

 unmixed blood than the sire. 



Definite Results Must be Aimed at But while cross- 

 breeding is productive of the most desirable results in some particu- 

 lars, it should not be undertaken without a definite purpose; other- 

 wise the result may be to deteriorate the stock. The Royal Society 

 of England has placed itself upon record on this subject as follows: 

 " It is to this injurious system (promiscuous cross-breeding) that 

 may be traced the existence of so many miserable breeds of cattle 

 in this country." 



Good Blood only Should be Bred From We have 

 dwelt upon the power which pure-bred animals possess of marking 

 their offspring, and it has been sought to direct the reader's mind 

 to the conclusion that only good blood can be profitably bred from. 

 Especially is this a necessity in cross-breeding, because it is a defi- 

 nitely ascertained fact that cross-bred animals do not transmit to 

 their get their own characteristics. Although such characteristics 

 seem to be controlling in their own temperaments, they will fre- 

 quently, whatever their personal traits, transmit a tendency to the 

 development of their ancestral peculiarities. Changes in stock 

 cannot be accomplished quickly by crossing; results in the direction 

 of a distinct improvement of the breed, or the creation of a new 

 breed, can only be reached by years of systematic and ceaseless 

 effort. It took the Cheviot sheep a quarter of a century of direct 

 exertion to affect lastingly the blood of the Scotch sheep, and even 

 then the characteristics of the original stock would occasionally 

 crop out. 



How Cross-Breeding Can Be Made Profitable Un- 

 doubtedly, although the benefits of the cross are most evident in 

 the first generation, and the defects or incongruities of one or other 

 breed are continually breaking out, unless the characteristics of the 

 two breeds are altogether antagonistic, it is practicable in course of 

 time, by a system of selection and careful weeding, to establish a 

 new breed altogether. But while crossing for the purposes of the 

 butcher may be practiced with impunity and with great advantage 

 in the directions we have pointed out, no one should undertake, by 

 crossing, the establishment of a new breed, unless he has clear and 

 well-defined views of the object he wishes to accomplish, and has 

 duly studied ani thoroughly understands the principles on which it 

 can be carried out, and is also, moreover, willing to bestow on that 

 object half a lifetime of constant and unremitting care and expense. 

 From the great variety of improved breeds that can now be obtained, 

 adapted to almost every climate and system of management, it can 



