CROSS-BREEDING. 197 



The male must not only possess superior merit in 

 his general characteristics, but he must have the essen- 

 tial quality of prepotency in transmitting them. 



One difficulty in the way of ingrafting the charac- 

 teristics of the Cheviot sheep upon the Black-faced 

 mountain-breed, to which we have referred, arose 

 from the uniform typical characters and consequent 

 prepotency of the race it was proposed to change. 



In crossing English rams upon the old-established 

 breeds of France, the same difficulties were experi- 

 enced, viz., the prepotency of the French stock, and 

 the fact that the English breeds were not adapted to 

 the climate and system of management they were sub- 

 jected to in their adopted country. 



M. Malingie-Nouel, director of the agricultural 

 school of La Charmoise, has given his experience in 

 establishing the Charmoise breed, from which we 

 make the following quotations : J 



" When an English ram of whatever breed is put 

 to a French ewe, in which term I include the mon- 

 grel merinos, the lambs present the following results : 

 Most of them resemble the mother more than the 

 father ; some show no trace of the father ; a very few 

 represent equally the features of both. Encouraged 

 by the beauty of these last, one preserves carefully 

 the ewe-lambs among them, and when they are old 

 enough puts them to an English ram. 



" The products of the second cross, having seventy- 

 five per cent, of English blood, are generally more 

 like the father than the mother, resembling him in 



1 Translated by Mr. Pusey, in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society, vol. xiv., p. 214. 



