138 EVOLUTION OF BRITISH CATTLE 



have called them ; and that when the originally 

 selected type had been steadied or fixed by in- 

 breeding, the breed as a whole was gradually 

 graded up to their standard by persistent mating 

 with the selected type. 



Within the above question lies another much 

 smaller to a breed but larger to many an indi- 

 vidual breeder : Is it possible for a second class 

 herd to be raised to the first class without 

 recourse to the assistance of first class stock? 

 Again the answer must be the same : that it 

 may be done ; but in how many years, or in how 

 many lifetimes? Few, if any, of our first class 

 herds have been raised in this way. Some may 

 have been raised by continued infusion of the 

 highest into lower types — by grading, as it is 

 called — but most of our great stock-breeders date 

 their entry into the highest ranks from the time 

 they acquired the highest class of stock and com- 

 menced to eliminate the lower. 



Among stock-breeders generally there is a 

 very strong aversion to in-breeding, although it 

 was the method of the great pioneers and is 

 still the method in a modified form, called line 

 breeding, among breeders of the highest class. 

 The origin of this aversion would be difficult 

 to trace, although it has been frequently suggested 

 to have been biblical. It existed in Bakewell's 

 day and how long before we do not know ; but 

 if it existed in much earlier days it is difficult 



