194 



FARMERS' REGISTER— RECLAIMING WASTES, &c. 



woolly. Animals of this description, while they 

 are almost certain to attain to mediocrity in physi- 

 cal qualities, rarely rise much above it in any one 

 particular. The off'spring of the blooded racer 

 and the dray horse, for instance, might transcend 

 the former in weight and strength and the latter in 

 speed, while his runnin<^ powers Avould bear no 

 comparison with those o? the former, nor his size 

 and strength with those of the latter. 



2. In order to form distinctively a new race pos- 

 sessing some characteristic peculiarities, it is ne- 

 cessary thai both parents should be mongrels, si- 

 milarly descended. An example of this kind oc- 

 curs in the offspring of two mulattoes. Persons 

 of this description approach towards the peculiari- 

 ties of the Indian. They are apt to be straight, 

 active, delicate, and somewhat dehcient in strength. 

 Their most striking peculiarity, however, is a re- 

 markable glossiness of hair. This, though often 

 perfectly straight, is sometimes curled, yet always 

 shining and free from crispness. I have been 

 able, from this appearance of the hair, to pro- 

 nounce — and on inquiry found the opinion correct 

 — that a child, itself nearly black, being three- 

 fourths negro, had white blood through both pa- 

 rents. The mongrel between the hound and cur 

 dog mingles the qualities and appearance of both 

 races remarkably, but the offspring of two such 

 mongrels, is a slender swift animal, somewhat 

 resembling the wolf in appearance, and pos- 

 sessing such a wolf-like propensity to attack sheep, 

 as to insure its own extinction as a race wherever 

 I have known it. 



It is generally believed that animals take size 

 from the sire: this is certainly true with the ca- 

 nine species. I have known many a very large dog 

 whose mother was a fice, and I own a very small 

 one whose mother was a hound of ordinary size. 

 I mention these facts, with a view of suggesting, 

 that it might be proper, in order to obtain in per- 

 fection the characteristics that might belong to a 

 new race, to alternate the sexes of its progenitors 

 in such a manner, as that a due transmission of the 

 qualities to be derived from each of the sexes 

 might be insured. For example, I have been in- 

 formed by a friend, that the Durham short horned 

 breed of cattle may be produced by crossing the 

 Holderness with the Alderney breed. Now, 1 

 would judge it necessary, in order to give sex its 

 due influence on the progeny, that the sire of one 

 of the mongrel progenitors of such a race, should 

 be a Holderness bull, and that of the other an Al- 

 derney. Indeed, the objects in view might possi- 

 bly be more perfectly obtained, by beginning with 

 four animals bred with reference to this principle. 

 It may be here objected, that so much intricacy 

 in the formation of a new race, seems to be in op- 

 position to the simplicity of nature. But we find 

 nature — while she sufficiently yields her secrets to 

 patient observation, for all useful purposes — con- 

 stantly guarding the durability and value of her 

 works against the injuries of mere casualty. It 

 is not difficult to conceive what a mongrel world 

 this would have been long since, if simply a first 

 crossing of animals could have constituted the fun- 

 damental characteristics of a distinct race. 



Some distinguished breeders have held the opi- 

 nion, that breeding " in and in" affords important 

 benefit in the improvement of stock. May not 

 this have arisen from the better opportunity thus 

 afforded of more perfectly mingling the elementa- 



ry essentials of a new race ? Nothing, I believe, 

 is better settled among us Virginians, than that 

 tliis practice -will deteriorate an old established 

 race. And we find it necessary to change our 

 breeding animals frequently. My own cattle are 

 descended from a stock which, "five and twenty 

 years ago, were remarkable for size and deep 

 milking. They were the offspring of an imported 

 English bull — I know not of what peculiar race ; 

 and although some slight resemblance to their pro- 

 genitors may still be seen, yet they are now small 

 and very scanty milkers. This I ascribe chiefly 

 to breeding hi and in. The distemper among 

 them almost compelled the continuance of this 

 practice, as it destroyed new comers. I am now 

 determined to introduce a new set, and brave the 

 risks of that malady. 



I profess to know very little on the «ubject of 

 breeding horses. What I have to say, should, of 

 course, be taken in the way of surmise. I believe it 

 is generally admitted, that a great improvement in 

 the breed of race horses was effected by the intro- 

 duction of the Arabian horse into England. Now, 

 in conformity with the foregoing principles, I 

 would suppose that mongrels, or animals produced 

 by the first crossing between the Arabian and the 

 old English horse, would not distinguish them- 

 selves so admirably on the turf, as their offsprings 

 who might inherit the blood of the Arabian and of 

 the old English race horse, both on the side of the 

 sire and the dam. And further, those breeds 

 which have distinguished themselves greatly on 

 the turf, will probably be found, on examining into 

 tlieir pedigree, to have inheritetl an equal share of 

 Arabian blood from the male and female progeni- 

 tors. 



There can be no doubt but that nature is regu- 

 lated by fixed laws in the formation of distinctive 

 breeds or races of animals which, if known, might 

 guide to the transmission of any particular desira- 

 ble quality. In attempting to develope these laws, 

 vv^e may readily conclude that they are not to be 

 found in the first cross, because of the unequal influ- 

 ence which the sexes exert on their progeny, and 

 because of the multiplicity of races which would 

 thus be formed, liable constantly to deterioration 

 from every admixture. We must then seek for 

 them, by breeding in and in, from the same slock, 

 until we get a due mixture of the two races used 

 in the experiment, or — v.hich I would think bet- 

 te — breeding the subjects of such an experiment, 

 with animals similarly descended. 



It is as certainly necessary that we should endea- 

 vor to find out the laws of nature in this matter, 

 as that we should ascertain those which regulate 

 her in the growth of our crops. Some of the gen- 

 tlemen who have paid great attention to the pedi- 

 gree of fine horses, and to breeding them, could 

 doubtless afford us valuable information on this 

 subject. It would at least be a source of amuse- 

 ment, to see a precise calculation of the quantity 

 of Arabian blood in both the sires and dams of 

 some of our noblest animals of this species. 



A. B. C. 



MEANS FOR RKCLAIMING WASTES FORMED 

 BY SEA SAND. 



To the Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. 



Williamsburg, jfugust 2d, 1833. 

 I send an extract from an article in the last No. 

 of the Foreign Quarterly Review, which I thmk 



