34 



whereas, if the opposite has been the case, the stock must 

 recede. . 



" A man possessed of large capital can easily place on his 

 land animals of immense bone and substance, and of the most 

 approved breeds, but he cannot so easily alter the character of 

 his soil and make it iit to carry such cattle ; that must be a 

 work of time, however great may be expenditure with the view 

 of improvement ; and consequently it becomes good, sound 

 policy to keep both stock and soil progressing in the same 

 ratio." 



In selecting a breed of cattle, we should choose that which 

 has been bred in a country as similar as possible to our own 

 in climate, soil and in its natural features. 



Use and disuse of parts. Cows in a wild state yield very 

 little milk, and if our cows are not milked regularly and com- 

 pletely, the quantity of milk will decrease, or may cease 

 altogether, whereas by the constant and proper use of the 

 udder the flow of milk is continued. Cows that are worked, 

 as often happens on the continent of Europe, acquire in time 

 stouter limbs and a heavier appearance than if kept for simple 

 milch purposes. Swiss cattle are remarkably coarse and heavy 

 limbed for their size, in consequence of their almost daily 

 efforts in climbing the steep mountain sides. 



Atavism, reversion or breeding back, is a subject of great 

 importance and a proper understanding of it indispensable for 

 the breeder. Darwin mentions many curious cases of reversion. 

 He crossed a Black Spanish cock with a white silk hen ; one of 

 the offspring was almost exactly like the wild Callus bankiva. 

 Another experiment is mentioned, in which some West High- 

 land cows were crossed with purely-bred short-horn bulls. The 

 cows were of a red color, and the bulls red, red and white, or 

 dark roan. A considerable number of the calves were white, 

 or white with red ears, and he says, it is highly probable that 

 here the off"spring reverted, in consequence of the cross, to the 

 color either of the aboriginal parent species, or of some 

 ancient and half wild parent breed. 



The same author writes, — " As a general rule, crossed 



