148 



would purchase a race-horse, if he knew the sire and 



dam to be closely related. 



The farmer and liverj^man are equally careful on 

 this subject. To pursue successfully the system of 

 crossing, requires much judgment and experience, 

 for the bad qualities of the cross are easily engrafted 

 on the original stock, and once there, are not for 

 several generations got rid of; and the good ones of 

 both are occasionally neutralized to a most mortify- 

 ing extent. Crossing should be pursued with great 

 caution, and the most perfect of the same breed 

 should be selected, but varied by being frequently 

 taken from different stocks. 



I must again recur to the very pernicious but fre- 

 quent practice of breeding on infirm, small, ill-shaped, 

 bad-colored mares, and those positively diseased, or 

 predisposed to disease by hereditary taint — ^ a prac- 

 tice which cannot be too severely censured. I once 

 interrogated a number of gentlemen who had bought, 

 at auction I believe, several small, ill-shaped and 

 diseased mares, to know why they should have pur- 

 chased such, when they were certainly able to have 

 got good-sized, well-formed, and sound ones. One 

 of the gentlemen replied that he knew his mare was 

 unfit for much service, but he got her cheap, and as 

 he had plenty of grass, he intended to turn her to 

 breed. "My friend,'' I replied, "your mare is better 

 suited to any other purpose. Suppose you put her 

 to a horse and raise a colt, you cannot expect it, at 



