14 PRINCIPLES OF STOCK-BREEDING. 



that were kept distinct for many years, were charac- 

 terized by peculiarities that were uniformly inherited. 1 



Of the offshoots of the original Spanish-merino 

 sheep, the Silesian family bred in Europe, and the 

 Rich and the Hammond families in the United States, 

 furnish further illustrations of the hereditary trans- 

 mission of family characters. 



Of cattle, the Booth and the Bates families of 

 Short-horns, the Quartley family of Devons, the Dish- 

 ley family of Long-horns, and the Ben Tompkins sort 

 of the Herefords, may be mentioned as among the 

 favorites of breeders, on account of the marked he- 

 redity of their peculiar qualities. 



Muscular strength, in connection with remarkable 

 powers of endurance, is frequently observed in par- 

 ticular families. " In ancient times there were fami- 

 lies of athletes, and there have been families of prize- 

 fighters. The recent researches of Galton as to wrest- 

 lers and oarsmen show that the victors generally 

 belong to a small number of families, among whom 

 strength and skill are hereditary." a 



The large proportion of successful racers tracing 

 their ancestry to Herod and Eclipse, not in a single 

 line only, but in several, furnish a good illustration of 

 the hereditary transmission of muscular power. It is 

 said that "Eclipse begot 334 and Herod 497 winners." 3 



1 Livingstone on "The Sheep," p. 21; Morrell's "American Shep- 

 herd," pp. 71-75 ; Randall's " Practical Shepherd," p. 14 ; Youatt on 

 " Sheep," p. 156. 



8 " Heredity," by Ribot, p. 6. 



8 " The Horse," by Stonehenge, American edition, p. 142 ; Stone- 

 henge, " British Rural Sports," p. 282 ; " The Horse of America," by 

 Frank Forrester, vol. ii., p. 265 ; Darwin's " Animals and Plants under 

 Domestication," vol. ii., p. 21. 



