CATTLE. 121 



But while he accomplished this, rendering the animals admirably suited 

 for the grazier, it was found that their qualities as milkers were much 

 deteriorated ; the dairy -farmers consequently retained their old breed, 

 noted for the richness, though perhaps not the great abundance of 

 the milk. We are not here speaking about the differences or the dis- 

 tinguished excellences of the various breeds of cattle, but of the prin- 

 ciples upon which excellences, it matters not of what sort, may be 

 obtained. "Like produces like," and both parents must present the 

 same excellencies, the same characteristics. It was by following out 

 these rules that Mr. Bakewell arrived at perfection in his breed; indeed 

 by some he is thought to have pushed his principles too far, and the fol- 

 lowing remarks have perhaps some justice in them : — " It was his grand 

 maxim, that the bones of an animal intended for food could not be too 

 small ; and that the fat, being the most valuable part of the carcass, 

 could not, consequently be too abundant. In pursuance of this leading 

 theory, by inducing a preternatural smallness of bone and rotundity of 

 carcass, he sought to cover the bones of all his animals externally with 

 masses of fiit. Thus the entirely new Leicester breed, from their exces- 

 sive tendency to fatten, produce too small a quantity of eatable meat, 

 and that, too, necessarily of inferior flavor and quality. They are, in 

 general, found defective in weight, proportionally to their bulk; and if 

 not thoroughly fattened, their flesh is crude and without flavor ; while, if 

 they be so, their carcasses produce little else but fat, a very considerable 

 part of which must be sold at an inferior price, to make candles instead 

 of food ; not to forget the very great waste that must ever attend the 

 consumption of over-fattened meat. 



" This great and sagacious improver (Mr. Bakewell), very justly dis- 

 gusted at the sight of those huge, gaunt, leggy, and misshapen animals 

 with which his vicinity abounded, and which scarcely any length of 

 time, or quantity of food, would thoroughly fatten, patriotically deter- 

 mined upon raising a more sightly and profitable breed ; yet, rather un- 

 fortunately, his zeal impelled him to the opposite extreme. Having 

 painfully, and at much cost, raised a variety of cattle, the chief merit of 

 which is to make fat, he has apparently laid his di-ciples and successors 

 under the necessity of substituting another that will make lean." — 

 lUustraf'.ons of Natural History, p. 5. 



Granting the truth of these strictures, which we scarcely can to the 

 full extent, what is the inference as it respects the system of breeding? 

 Namely, this : that by pursuing the proper mode, by proper selections, 

 and by joining like excellencies and properties in the sire and dam, and 

 not by rashly crossing distinct breeds, but by making one breed the 

 great foundation, and working upon it, remembering that "like pro- 

 duces like," not only will the point aimed at be attained, but it may 

 even be overshot, thus demonstrating the power which the judicious 

 breeder possesses. 



Since Mr. Bakewell's time the New Leicester breed has become de- 

 generated ; by some the stock has been bred in and in too closely, and 

 by others very injudiciously crossed. In the mean time the short-horned 

 breeds of cattle have been gaining an ascendancy, so that few really 

 excellent long-horns are now to be seen. This, however, has nothing 

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