876 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



liar circumstauces. There is, indeed, no necessity for it, to any extent, as our pop- 

 ular breeds of cattle are so widely distributed as to permit advantageous selections 

 to be made from various herds for fresh crosses, without running into close rela- 

 tions of blood. Yet, two or three direct crosses may be made in successive genera- 

 tions, with a choice bull, on his own descendants, even now, to decided advantage." 



We copy the conclusion of this great advocate of in-and-in-breeding to approve 

 every word of it, but stopping short at the limitation there stated. Even James C. 

 Jones, of Delaware, Ohio, whose strong reasons against in-and-in-breeding Mr. Al- 

 len quotes, only to disapprove, would doubtless go this far ; for he admits " that 

 many instances can be cited where no bad results have followed where they have 

 not been carried too far, but," says he, "I deny that, in any case, such breed- 

 ing has been more beneficial than the breeding together of animals of the same 

 blood and quality that were not of kin." 



With this conclusion we also concur. 



The testimony of Pierce, the Collings, Bates, the Booth Bros., etc., a great num- 

 ber of English and Scotch breeders, has only this value. They were cartful hand- 

 lers of stock, and could have taken two scrub animals and developed a reasonably 

 good progeny in forty or fifty generations. 



J. H. Walker, than whom there is no more enthusiastic or sagacious Jersey 

 breeder in America, is often quoted as possi^ssing extreme views in favor of in-and- 

 in breeding. He certainly does believe that "blood will tell," and so do all success- 

 ful breeders; but this advice contains his conclusion of the whole matter, as we 

 understand him : " Breed to the winner is the rule — the winner that is, not the win- 

 ner that is to be." 



Mr. G. E. Morris, in an able addre.=8 delivered before the Illinois Jersey Breed- 

 ers Association, and published in the Bulletin of December 17th, uses this language 

 which will bear repetition: "Select breeding stock with care, giving' much more 

 importance to peculiarly us.ful qualities than to color or any special jjoint, bathing 

 our decision-s buth on the appearance of the animtil and the character of the an- 

 cestry, avoiding long continued close inbreeding." 



Thomas & Drane, of Clarksville, Tenn., advertise Wossie G802, one of those 

 wonderful inbred bulls, tracing fourteen times to St. Helier 45, and five times to 

 lanlhe 4562. 



Of the same class is Alphia Star 7487, recently sold by W. J. Hassehnan. His 

 blood is almost pure inbred from Saturn 93 and Ehea 166. Mr. Walker's catalogue 

 shows numbers of such animals. 



These only illustrate the tendency of the day. Such animals would be very 

 valuable for crosses with other of the best families, but it is our opinion that such 

 blood should be mixed thenceforward. 



I believe that many of as good animals ae the world has produced are the 

 property of members of this association, and I hope that you may build up great 

 family names for these best animals, and make fortunes. But a greater achieve- 

 ment for this association would be to make Indiana famous for the rigor and 

 beauty of our Jersey cows. Let us have the greatest proportional diumber to pro- 

 duce 800 lbs. of butter per year, rather than the greatest number that will produce 

 four pounds per day for a few days, and be practically useless for two-thirds of the 

 year. 



