BREEPnfO.] 



POPv :\rorxTATX, field, and fakm. 



[nilKEDIN'O. 



partake, in a great dec^roe, of the prD^i rlu's of 

 the mother.' 'I liavo tried,' says the sport- 

 in'^ baronet, ' many experiments by breeding 

 in-and-in npon dogs, fowls, and pigeons ; tlio 

 do"3 beeame, from strong spaniels, weak and 

 diminutive lap-dogs ; the fowls became long in 

 the legs, small in the body, and bad breeders.' 

 Sir William Clayton, in bis Treatise on Grey- 

 hounds, is also, in some degree, nnfavouniblo 

 to breeding akin. lie says — ' If continued 

 for some litters, a manifest inferiority of size, 

 and a deficiency of bone will soon be visible, 

 as well as a want of courage and bottom, 

 tliough the beauty of the form, with the excep- 

 tion of the size, may not be diminished.' 

 Mr. Beckford is also averse to consanguineous 

 breeding among dogs. ' A very famous sports- 

 man,' he says, 'has told me, that ho fre- 

 quently breeds from brothers and sisters. As I 

 should be very unwilling to urge anything in 

 opposition to such authority, you bad better 

 trv it ; if it succeeds in hounds, it is more, I 

 believe, than it usually does in other animals.' 

 It is remarkable that the ancients, although 

 they advocated the system of in-and-in breed- 

 ing among all other domestic animals, yet 

 were averse to it in the dog. In the Geopo- 

 nier, 1, xii. c. i., we are cautioned against 

 breeding between individuals of the same 

 litter. Conrad Gesner, on this subject, ob- 

 serves, * that the very best dogs are bred each 

 in their own line, or from parents of a similar 

 kind ; but an extreme care in huntsmen for 

 improvement, has led them so to mingle dif- 

 ferent breeds as to make the varieties almost 

 innumerable.' " 



" Like begets like," is a truism ; and in no 

 instance is it more just, nor in any more im- 

 portant than in dog-breeding; consequently, 

 it is not easy to be too careful that the quali- 

 ties and form of both parents be as perfect as 

 possible. As no bitch is without some defect, 

 so it should be remembered, in selecting a 

 mate for her, that the dog should not only be 

 entirely without that particular defect, but 

 even superabundantly furnished contrariwise. 

 If the strain borders on the light and leggy, 

 do not perpetuate the defect, but choose a dog 

 not coarse, but strong and well trussed. If 

 the bitch incline to be Jlcto (tender), lix on a 

 dog for her that is singularly hardy. The 

 qualities also must be attended to in breeding, 

 3 M 



for they run as imicli in the blood aa the form 

 does. If the bitch, though excpiisite in figure, 

 be yet wanting in metal, give her u mate with as 

 much dash and determination of the right kind 

 as j)083ible. If, on the contrary, though wolU 

 noseii, she is given to skirting, to run riot, to 

 babble, or to any other hurtful propensities, 

 cross it with super-excellence, in the opposite 

 quality in the dog selected for her. Skirting 

 particularly by removing the breed, by letting 

 the skirter be mated with a thorough line hunt- 

 ing hound. It is by judicious crossing that tho 

 pack is rendered complete. Let masters of 

 hounds be very careful, likewise, in entrusting 

 their favourite bitches to the care of the atten- 

 dants of other kennels. There is infinite risk 

 and chance of deception in this, because, 

 where the stallion, be it foi-hound, grey- 

 hound, or pointer, is of great celebrity, tho 

 probability is, that such dog is already fully 

 engaged, in wbich case another dog may bo 

 fraudulently substituted, and the bitch served 

 by one that, instead of mending the breed, 

 may increase its defects. On this subject 

 Colonel Cook well observes — " It is the custom 

 to send bitcbes to the fashionable stallions of 

 the day ; for instance, as formerly, to the late 

 Mr. Meynell's ' Gusman ;' Lord Fitzwilliam's 

 'Hardwick;' Lord Yarborough's 'Kanter;' 

 Mr. Ward's ' Charon ;' the Duke of Eutland's 

 ' Topper ;' the Duke of Beaufort's ' Justice ;' 

 the Duke of Grafton's 'Eegeut;' Lord Lons- 

 dale's 'Euler;' Mr. Smith's 'Champion;' 

 Mr. Munster's * Collier ;' Lord Myddleton's 

 'Vaulter;' &c. : but, as it generally happens 

 that your brood bitches go to heat much about 

 the same time, it is therefore not very probable 

 that one stallion hound can ward many bitches, 

 besides those of the owner ; nor is it reason- 

 able to expect, in the height of the season, 

 that the dog-hounds can be left at home to 

 ward bitches from other kennels. I would 

 suggest, in order to be more certain of your 

 breed, that you send your bitch to a well-bred 

 dog, brother, if possible, to the stallion hound ; 

 and, to prevent any mistake, order your ser- 

 vants to see the bitch warded." 



We have remarked, in reference to the 

 horse, that, as a general rule, " like produces 

 like ;" and we think the same will be found to 

 hold good in reference to the dog. Mr. Beck- 

 ford advises us to consider the size, shape, 



449 



