BREEDING AND TREATMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE. 39 



of the word. Intercourse of a sexual nature between animals 

 of distinct breeds as between Shorthorns and Galloways, or 

 between Herefords and Glamorgans is essentially crossing, 

 and the offspring of a raw and first cross of this sort is usually 

 a most vigorous and healthy animal, if neither of the parents 

 is diseased. In any case, to breed from animals that are 

 diseased or unsound in any respect is, to put it mildly, a mis- 

 take ; such animals should not be allowed the opportunity of 

 procreating, for unsoundness is distinctly hereditary, and disease 

 in a parent will commonly reappear in offspring. 



It seems to be well established that Nature looks with 

 approval on blood-mixing within the limits of a given species, 

 rather than on the family exclusiveness which, in the breeding 

 of pedigree stock, has been too frequently promoted. This 

 refers to the animal world in general, including Man himself. 

 How far the greatness of the British race is owing to the fact 

 that " Saxon, and Norman, and Dane are we" as Tennyson 

 put it I will leave others to say, but the fact remains that as 

 a nation we are considerably mixed in blood. This suggested 

 illustration may serve as a point of study in the breeding of 

 domesticated animals, and I may refer to the Shorthorns by way 

 of analogy. 



One of the most successful dairy farmers I have known 

 followed a plan of breeding which is worth relating, and 

 found it answer his purpose thoroughly well. He never bred 

 any cows for his own dairy, but bought as many promising 

 heifers as he wanted, of the ordinary Shorthorn breed of the 

 Fylde of Lancashire, year after year, and had them put to a 

 pedigree bull. The bull was always a thoroughly good one, 

 but as a matter of preference did not come from a milking 

 family. His prepotency showed itself in the calves, which ran 

 to beef at an early age, and were almost invariably fed off for 

 the butcher while still they had their " calf-flesh " upon them. 

 This sort of thing cannot be generally followed, we know ; but 

 it is an instance, remarkable enough in its way, of breeding for 

 a special and intelligible purpose. 



Whenever it is desirable to feed off animals in this way for 



