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PRINCIPLES OF IMPROVING DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



the improvement of a breed is to be understood the 

 producing of such a change iu the shape and func- 

 tions of an animal as shall render it better fitted to 

 perform the labors of the yoke, saddle, or harness; 

 better adapted for becoming fat; or for producing 

 wool, milk, flesh, eggs, or feathers. The desired al- 

 terations are sought by the wise selection of parents. 

 In this consists skill in breeding; while the practice 

 of the most successful breeders has mostly run into 

 three well-defined channels. 



^Ist. That of breeding froin individuals of the same 

 parentage, called in-and-in breeding. 



2d. That of breeding from offspring of different 

 varieties, called cross-breeding. 



3d. That of breeding from animals of different pa- 

 rentage, but of the same variety, called breeding in 

 the line, or the same race. 



Much has been written on each of these systems 

 by their respective advocates; and under certain cir- 

 cumstances, each doubtless has some advantages. In 

 theory, in-and-in breeding appears very objectionable; 

 but when reduced to practice, the most successful 

 breeders in England have found it to answer their 

 highest expectations. " To obtain the most perfect 

 form, the two modes of breeding most resorted to," 

 remarks Dr. Cline, "are crossing, and in-and-in. 

 The latter may be the better when a particular vari- 

 ety approaches perfection in form; especially for those 

 who may not be acquainted with the principles ou 

 which improvement depends. When the male is 

 much larger than the female, the offspring is generally 

 of an imperfect form. If the female be proportion- 

 ably larger than the male, the offspring is of an im- 

 proved form. For instance, if a well-formed large 

 ram be put to ewes proportionally smaller, the lambs 

 will not be so well shaped as their parents; but if a 

 smaller ram be put to larger ewes, the lambs will be 

 of an improved form. The proper method of im- 

 proving the form of animals consists in selecting a 

 well-formed female proportionably larger than the 

 male. The improvement depends on this principle, 

 that the power of the female to supply her offspring 

 with nourishment is in proportion to her sine, and to 

 the power of nourishing herself by the excellence of 

 her constitution. The size of the foetus is generally 

 in proportion of that of the male parent; and there- 

 fore when the female parent is disproportionably small, 

 the quantity of nourishment is deficient, and her 08- 

 spring has all tho disproportions of a starveling. 

 But when the female, from her size and good consti- 

 tion, is more than adequate to the nourishment of a 

 foetus of a male smaller than herself, the growth must 



be proportionably greater. The large female has al- 

 so a larger quantity of milk, and her offspring is more 

 abundantly supplied with nourishment after its birth." 

 Conceding the correctness of the above statement 

 that the offspring naturally takes its eize from the 

 male parent, we can understand why the calves got- 

 ten by the large Durham bulls, imported from Eng- 

 land and crossed on our comparatively small native 

 cows, have uniformly disappointed the e.xpectations 

 of stock-growers. Many thousands of dollars have 

 been thrown away in unscientific attempts of this 

 character to improve the neat cattle of the United 

 States. By importing large, well-formed cows of 

 vigorous constitutions, at an early age, and pairing 

 them with the best native bulls, a cross would be ob- 

 tained through the infusion of foreign blood, superi- 

 or for this country, with its peculiar climate, soil, pas- 

 turage, and markets, to the highest bred families in 

 Great Britain. For England, mammoth cattle may 

 be the most profitable ; but for this country, they are 

 not to be commended. Such is the plasticity of ani- 

 mal vitality, that beasts soon adapt themselves in size 

 to the peculiar circumstances that surround them. 

 Shetland ponies are exceedingly small because their 

 supply of food has for ages been scanty. It is not in 

 nature that a starved pig should make a large hog. 

 Generous feeding and nourishment from conception 

 to full maturity tends at all times to the symmetrical 

 development and perfection of the animal. On the 

 contrary, nature abhors hunger, thirst, and ill-usage 

 in every form. Feed a calt; colt, lamb, or pig on 

 food which is defective in nutritive elements, but 

 abundant in quantity, and you will soon produce a 

 pot-bellied, and otherwise defective animal. Its sto- 

 mach and intestines are necessarily preternaturally 

 distended to contain food enough for its bare subsist- 

 ence; and when it comes to the end of its unnatural! 

 growth, the proportion of abdominal viscera and oth- 

 er offal, as compared with the more valuable parts,, 

 will be found in great excess. With bad keeping, it> 

 is impossible to prevent rapid deterioration; and itisi 

 mainly because the millions of husbandmen pay in- 

 sufficient attention to the daily nourishment of their' 

 live stock, that so little improvement is witnessed. Itl 

 matters not whether one breeds in-and-in, cross-breeds, 

 or breeds in the line, the principle of good keeping 

 applies equally to every system. The maxim, that 

 offspring resembles its parents, or that "like producesi 

 like," is only true under like circumstauces. Aniniabi 

 taken from one district or country into another, and 

 subjected to new conditions, will obey all the laws 0^ 

 these now conditions, and gradually disobey all thoad' 



