46 A TREATISE ON HORSE-BREEDING. 



in-and-in an infusion of fresh blood must be 

 obtained by resorting to a male or female not 

 closely related, but possessing as nearly as may 

 be the desired quality. It should be borne in 

 mind that defects are quite as liable to be 

 transmitted as good qualities; and while we 

 are fixing a type of superior excellence in one 

 particular, we should be careful that we are 

 not, with equal certainty, perpetuating and in- 

 tensifying a serious defect. 



It is believed by many that breeding in-and- 

 in has a refining tendency that its effect is in 

 the direction of fineness of texture, lightness 

 of bone, smoothness, evenness and polish, at 

 the expense of robustness, strength, vigor and 

 power; hence, it is one of the most potent of 

 agents in the production of dwarf breeds, and 

 the main reliance of breeders of Bantam fowls 

 and other diminutive races. It is certainly a 

 powerful and invaluable agent in the hands of 

 an intelligent person in the formation or mod- 

 ification of a breed, but can never be success- 

 fully followed by general farmers, who must 

 produce hardy, prolific and vigorous animals. 



The great number of intermarriages which 

 took place in the royal family of Egypt during 

 the reign of the Ptolemys has occasionally been 

 referred to by the advocates of close in-breed- 

 ing; and the magnificent personal appearance 

 of these rulers, their close resemblance in form 



