1252 IMPROVEMENT OF THE BREEDS. 



acquired by perseverance in breeding from aniuutU 

 which possessed the impo)tant or fancied requisites, 

 and might, therefore, be said to be ahnost confirmed 

 in such ir)dividuals. Under these circumstances, strik- 

 ing resuhs would doubtless follow the introduction of 

 these sires to a common stock ; results which would 

 lead superficial ol)servers to remark, that individual 

 sires possessed properties as males, which, in fact, were 

 only assignable to them as improved animals." 



In general, the qualities of the male and female pa- 

 rents are visible to an equal extent in the offspring, as 

 is well exemplified among horses, in the mixture of the 

 blood and cart breed, where the great difference in 

 form and character is nicely blended ; but, occasionally, 

 the peculiarities of the male, or female, are visible only 

 on some particular part of the offspring, as in the 

 crossing of the Merino ram with the Ryeland ewe, 

 when tlie former affects the fleece, and the latter the 

 carcass. 



Though there are many opinions as to the compara- 

 tive influence of the sexes on the progeny, yet, as be- 

 fore stated, the majority of voices represent the male as 

 the more influential. Mr Boswell, in his essay on this 

 subject, published in the Quarterly Journal of Agri' 

 culture, and in the Farmer's Magazine, is decidedly 

 of this opinion, " Being fully convinced of the power 

 of the male on the offspring, I have always accounted 

 it as a loss to put a bad male to a high bred female, 

 and have never done so. I have, however, observed, 

 where the country people have purchased high bred 

 shoep at any sale of mine, and bred from them with 

 the ordinary rams, that the breed very quickly got 



