CHAPTER X. 



CKOSS-BKEEDING. 



CKOSS-BREEDING, strictly speaking, is the pairing 

 of animals belonging to distinct breeds, and, in this 

 limited sense, it may be considered the opposite of in- 

 and-in breeding. 



The terms "crossing," "making a cross," "out- 

 breeding," and "cross-breeding," are, however, fre- 

 quently used to indicate the mixture of the blood of 

 different families belonging to the same breed. As 

 the principle involved in both of these methods is the 

 same, and the loose use of these terms is not likely to 

 lead to any serious confusion in their application, we 

 need not attempt to assign them a more definite 

 meaning. 



The advantages of cross-breeding have been strong- 

 ly urged by a large number of writers, and in many 

 instances it is undoubtedly the best possible practice. 

 The improvements that have been effected by cross- 

 ing, in particular cases, have been, however, without 

 sufficient reason attributed to some direct influence 

 arising from the process itself. Some of the best 

 authorities on this subject have evidently been misled 

 in their attempted explanation of the advantages of 

 the system, by placing too much confidence in the 



