300 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APItH, 2, 1K"4. 



science: of agriculture, 

 improving the breeds of animals. 

 Bu improving a breed, is understood to be the 

 producing such an alteration in shape or descrip- 

 tion, as shall render the animal better tilted for the 

 labors he has to perform ; better fitted for becom- 

 ing fat; or for producing milk, wool, eggs, feath- 

 ers, or particular qualities of these. The funda- 

 mental principle of this amelioration is the proper 

 selection of parents. Two theories have obtained 

 notice on this subject, the one in favor of breed- 

 ing from individuals of the same parentage, called 

 the in-and-in system, and the other in favor ol 

 breeding from individuals of two different off- 

 springs, called the system of cross-breeding. 



That the breed of animals is improved by the 

 largest males, is a very general opinion ; but this 

 opinion is the reverse of the truth, and has done 

 considerable mischief. The object of breeding, by 

 whatever mode, is the improvement of form, and 

 experience has proved, that crossing has only im- 

 proved, in an eminent degree in those instances in 

 which the females were larger than in the usual 1 

 proportion of females to males, and that it has 

 generally failed where the males were dispropor- 

 tionahly large. (Cully's introduction, fyc.) The fol- 

 lowing epitome of the science of breeding, is by 

 the late eminent surgeon, Henry Cline, who prac- 

 tised it extensively on his o\vn farm at Southgate. 



The lungs are of the first importance. It is on 

 their size and soundness that the strength and 

 health of animals principally depends. The power 

 of converting food into nourishment is in propor- 

 tion to their size. An animal of large lungs is 

 capable of converting a given quantity of food into 

 more nourishment than 0118 with smaller lungs; 

 ami therefore has a greater aptitude to fain n. 



The chest, according to its external form and 

 size, indicates the size of the lungs. The form of 

 the chest should approach to the figure of a cone, 

 having its apex situated between the shoulders, 

 and its base towards the loins. Its capacity de- 

 pends on its form more than on the extent of its 

 circumference ; for where the chest is equal in 

 two animals, one may have much larger lungs 

 than the other. A circle contains more than an 

 ellipsis of equal circumference; and in proportion 

 as the ellipsis deviates from the circle it contains 

 less. A deep chest, therefore, is not capacious, 

 unless it is proportionably round. 



The pelvis is the cavit} formed by the junction 

 of the haunch hones with the hone of the rump. 

 It is essentia^ that the easily should he large in 

 the female, that she may be enabled to bring forth 

 her young with less difficulty. Where the cavitj 

 is small the life of the mother .and her offspring is 

 endangered. The size of the pelvis is chiefly in- 

 dicated by the width of the hips, and the breadth 

 of the waist, which i* tin' space between the thighs. 

 The breadth of the Inns is always proportioned to 

 that of the chest and pelvis, 



The head should he small, hy which the birth is 

 facilitated. Its sinallness affords other advantages, 

 and generally hulic.il, s that the animal is of a good 

 breed. Horns are useless to domestic animals, 

 and they are often a cause of accidents. It is nor 

 difficult to breed animals without horns. The 

 breeders of horned cattle ami horned sheep, sus- 

 tain a loss more sensible than they conceive ; for 

 it is not the horns alone, hut also much hone in 

 the skulls of such animals to support the horns, 

 fur which the butcher pays nothing ; and besides 

 this there is an additional quantity of ligament ami 



muscle in the neck, which is of small value. The 

 skull of a rani with horns, weighed five times more 

 than a scull which was hornless. Both these 

 skulls were taken from sheep of the same age, each 

 being four years old. The great difference in 

 weight depended chiefly on the horns, for the 

 lower jaws were nearly equal ; one weighing seven 

 OUnpes, and the Other si\ ounces and three quar- 

 ters, which proves that the natural size of the head 

 was the same in both, independent of the horns 

 ami the thickness of "the bones which supports 

 them. In horned animals the skull is extremely 

 thick. In a hornless animal it is much thinner, 

 especially in that part where the horns usually 

 grow. To those who have not reflected on tin; suh- 

 ject it may appear ol' little consequence whether 

 ■ nid cattle have horns, hut on a moderate 

 calculation it will he found that the loss in farm- 

 ing stock, and also in the diminution of animal 

 food, is very considerable, from the production of 

 horns and their appendages. A mode oftbreeding 

 which should prevent the production of these, 

 would afford a considerable profit in an increase 

 of meat, wool, and other valuable parts. 



The length of the neck should be proportioned to 

 the height of the animal, that it may collect its 

 food vv lib ease. 



The muscles, and the tendons, which are their 

 appendages, should be large ; by which an animal 

 is enabled to travel with greater facility. 



The bones, when large, are commonly considered 

 an indication of strength ; hut strength does not 

 depend on the size of the hones, hut on that of the 

 muscles. Many animals with large bones are 

 weak, their muscles being small. Animals that 

 have been imperfectly nourished during their 

 growth, have their hones disproportionately large, 

 if such deficiency of nourishment originated from 

 a constitutional defect, which is the most frequent 

 cause, they remain weak during life. Large 

 bones, therefore, generally indicate an imperfection 

 in the organs of nutrition. 



To obtain the most improved form, the two modes 

 of breeding described as the in-and-in and crossing 

 modes, have been practised. The first mode may 

 be the better practice', when a particular variety 

 approaches perfection in form ; especially with 

 those who may be acquainted with the principles 

 on which improvement depends. When the male 

 is lunch larger than the female, the offspring is 

 generally of an imperfect form. It' the female he 

 proportionably larger than the male, the offspring 

 is of an improved form. For instance, if a vvt li 

 formed large ram he put to ewes proportionately 

 smaller, the lambs will not be so Well shaped as 

 their parents ; hut if a small ram he put to large 

 ewes, the lambs will be of an improved form, 

 flic proper method of improving the form of ani- 

 mals consists in selecting a well formed female 

 proportionately larger than the male. The im- 

 provement depends on this principle, that the pow- 

 er of tiie female to supply the offspring with nour- 

 isl nt, is it) proportion to her Size, and to the pow- 

 er of nourishing herself from the excellence ol In 1 

 constitution. The size of the foetus of a smalli 1 

 male than herself, the growth must he proportion- 

 reater. The larger female has also a lar- 

 ger quantity of milk, and her offspring is mor. 

 abundantly supplied with nourishment after birth. 



Abundant nourishment is necessary to produce 

 the most perfect formed animal, from the earlii si 

 period of its existence until its growth is complete. 

 As already observed, the power to prepare the 



greatest quantity of nourishment from u given 

 quantity of food, depends principally on the mag- 

 nitude of the lungs, to which the organs of diges- 

 tion are subservient. To obtain animals with large 

 lungs, crossing is the most expeditions method ; 

 because well formed females may he selected from 

 a large size, to be put to a well formed male of a 

 variety ; that is, rather smaller. 



By such a mode of crossing, the lungs and heart 

 become proportionately larger, in consequence of 

 a peculiarity in the circulation of the foetus, which 

 causes a larger proportion of the blood under such 

 circumstances, to he distributed to the lungs, than 

 to the other parts of the body : and as the shape 

 and size of the chest depend upon that of the 

 lungs, hence arises that remarkably large chest 

 which is produced by crossing with females that 

 are larger than males. The practice according to 

 ibis principle of improvement, however, ought to 

 he limited, for it may be carried to such an extent 

 that the hulk of the body might he so dispropor- 

 lioued to the size of the limbs as to prevent the an- 

 imal from moving with sufficient facility. In an- 

 mals where activity is required, this practice 

 should not he extended so far as in those which 

 are intended for the food of man. 



The character of animals, or the external appear- 

 ances by which the varieties of the same species, 

 are distinguished, are observed in the offspring; 

 hut those' of the male parent more frequently pre- 

 dominate. Thus in the breeding of horned ani- 

 mals, there are many varieties of sheep and 

 some of cattle which are hornless. If a hornless 

 ram be put to a horned ewe, almost all the lambs 

 will be hornless; partaking of the male more than 

 of the female parent. An offspring without horns 

 or rarely producing horns, might be obtained 

 from the Devonshire cattle, by crossing with bulls 

 of the Galloway breed ; which would often im- 

 prove the form of the chest, in which the Devon- 

 shire cattle are often deficient. 



Examples of the good effects of crossing may be 

 found in the improved breed of horses and swine in 

 England. The great improvement in the breed of 

 horses arose from the crossing with the diminutive 

 stallions, Barbs, aiid Arabians; and the introduc- 

 tion of Flanders mares into the country, was the 

 source of improvement in the breed of cart louses. 

 The form of swine has been greatly improved, 

 hy crossing with the small Chinese boar. 



Examples of the liad effects of crossing a breei! nvc 

 more numerous. When it became the fashion in 

 London, to drive large hay horses, the farmers in 

 Yorkshire put their stallions to much larger mares 

 than usual, and thus did infinite mischief to their 

 breed hy producing a race of small chested, long 

 legged, large boned, worthless animals. A similar 

 1 reject was adopted in Normandy, to enlarge; the 

 breed of horses there, by the use of stallions from 

 llolstein; and in consequence the best breed of 

 horses in France would have been spniii d, bad not 

 the farmers discovered their mistake in time, by 

 observing the offspring much inferior in form to 

 thai of I heir native slal lions. Some graziers in the 

 isle ofSheppy, conceived that they could improve 

 I heir sheep hy large Lincolnshire rams; the prod- 

 uce of which, however, were much inferior in the 

 shape of the carcase, and the quality of the wool ; 

 ami the flocks were greatly impaired by this at- 

 tempt to improve them. Attempts to improve the 

 animals of a country by any plan of crossing, 

 should be made with the greatest caution ; for by 

 a mistaken practice extensively pursued, irrepara- 





