Dangers of Cross-breeding 161 



although there seems to be a somewhat prevalent 

 idea that such improvement necessarily results. 

 While certain breeds may be crossed and will thus 

 produce increased vigor in the progeny, yet there 

 is frequently a tendency to reversion. That is, the 

 progeny will resemble a remote ancestor, perhaps 

 one of the original breeds from which the improved 

 animals were descended. Charles Darwin bred a 

 Black Spanish and a White Silky together and in 

 the second generation secured a fowl that very 

 much resembled the wild Jungle Fowl of India, 

 from which domesticated fowls are supposed to 

 have descended. 



Whenever a cross is made between individuals 

 of distinct and well-established breeds, reversion 

 is most likely to occur. That is, the blood of cer- 

 tain distinct breeds does not blend well. It is said 

 that a well-established white breed crossed upon 

 a black one that is equally well established, is 

 quite as likely to produce copper-colored chicks as 

 black or white, or a mixture of the two. There 

 seems to be a greater tendency to reversion when- 

 ever violent crosses are made. 



There is a somewhat prevalent idea that if a 

 fowl that has certain good qualities be crossed on 

 one having other good qualities, the offspring 

 will have the good qualities of both. This is a most 

 serious mistake. In fact, the poor qualities of both 

 parents are even more likely to be seen in the off- 



