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protlucing like, two advantages are to be taken, in breeding; the 

 attainment of perfections and the avoidance of defects. 



The prime cause of failure in casual and uninformed breeders is, con- 

 fining their attention solely to the Horse ; and for that reason it is, that so 

 many attempts to breed cart-horses up to the midland county size and 

 figure, elsewhere, have proved abortive. It is to carry much too far, the 

 oonnnon notion, that the progeny always bears most resemblance to the 

 male. To constitute a thorough-bred animal, of any species or variety, 

 the female must be equally so with the male : and to assure the attain- 

 ment of any quality or perfection, both the male and female ought 

 to possess it. Such superior tools to work with, are, however, not 

 always at hand, and the improving breeder must proceed painfully 

 and laboriously, step by step, securing a perfection, or amending a de- 

 fect, in each generation. Defects in the mare may be countervailed 

 by superiority of the Horse, in the same respects, and vice versa; and 

 their is a species of crossing which nature generally approves, that of 

 joining opposite forms in length and substance ; for example, length 

 with its opposite, and width, and rotundity Avith depth and flatness. 

 From such conjunctions result a medium, consistent both with beauty 

 and use. 



The supposed necessity of crossing breeds, that is to say, the disad- 

 vantage of breeding in-and-in, or between males and females of the 

 same family, has long been exploded by facts. The greatest success 

 has attended breeding from the nearest afhnities, in horned cattle ; 

 and doubtless similar results would follow with Horses, although it be 

 not yet so much matter of experience in the stud. In certain instances 

 where it has been said to fail, the cause of failure might be, that the 

 breed stood much in need of amendment at the outset ; a legitimate 

 reason for crossing. If I desii-ed to succeed in a racer, 1 would put my 

 Horse to his sister or his dam, provided they included more points of 

 superiority, than any other mare within my reach. Crossing in 

 order to lay the foundation of a new variety, is beside this question. 



Whilst established species and varieties are good and saleable in 

 the market, it is more advantageous to adhere to them, than to run 

 into random crosses. For example, racing blood is the grand improver 



and 



