ICO GOOD FROM CROSSING. Chap. XVII. 



too far. 17 But Sir J. Sebright, declares, 18 that by breeding in-and-in , 

 by which he means matching brothers and sisters, he has actually 

 seen the offspring of strong spaniels degenerate into weak and 

 diminutive lapdogs. The Eev. W. D. Fox has communicated to 

 me the case of a small lot of bloodhounds, long kept in the same 

 family, which had become very bad breeders, and nearly all had a 

 bony enlargement in the tail. A single cross with a distinct strain 

 of bloodhounds restored their fertility, and drove away the tendency 

 to malformation in the tail I have heard the particulars of an- 

 other case with bloodhounds, in which the female had to be held to 

 the male. Considering how rapid is the natural increase of the 

 dog, it is difficult to understand the large price of all highly im- 

 proved breeds, which almost implies long-continued close inter- 

 breeding, except on the belief that this process lessens fertility 

 and increases liability to distemper and other diseases. A high 

 authority, Mr. Scrope, attributes the rarity and deterioration in 

 size of the Scotch deerhound (the few individuals formerly existing 

 throughout the country being all related) in large part to close 

 interbreeding. 



With all highly-bred animals there is more or less difficulty in 

 getting them to procreate quickly, and all suffer much from delicacy 

 of constitution. A great judge of rabbits 19 says, "the long-eared 

 does are often too highly bred or forced in their youth to be of much 

 value as breeders, often turning out barren or bad mothers." 

 They often desert their young, so that it is necessary to have 

 nurse-rabbits, but I do not pretend to attribute all these evil results 

 to close interbreeding. 20 



With respect to Figs there is more unanimity amongst breeders 

 on the evil effects of close interbreeding than, perhaps, with any 

 other large animal. Mr. Druce, a great and successful breeder of 

 the Improved Oxfordshires (a crossed race), writes, "without a 

 change of boars of a different tribe, but of the same breed, constitu- 

 tion cannot be preserved." Mr. Fisher Hobbs, the raiser of the 



17 Stonehenge, ' The Dog,' 1867, pp. at M. Legrain's invariable success 

 175-188. in his experiments, that I wrote to a 



18 'The Art of Improving the distinguished naturalist in Belgium 

 Breed,' &c, p. 13. With respect to to inquire whether M. Legrain was a 

 Scotch deerhounds, see Scrope's 'Art trustworthy observer. In answer, I 

 of Deer Stalking,' pp. 350-353. have heard that, as doubts were ex- 



19 'Cottage Gardener,' 1861, p. 327. pressed about the authenticity of these 



20 Mr. Huth gives (' The Marriage experiments, a commission of inquiry 

 of Near Kin,' 1875, p. 302) from the was appointed, and that at a suc- 

 ' Bulletin de l'Acad. R. de Med. de ceeding meeting of the Society ('Bull. 

 Belgique' (vol. i.v, 1866, pp. 287, de l'Acad. R. de Med. de Beigique,' 

 305), several statements made by a 1867, 3rd series, Tome 1, No. 1 to 

 M. Legrain with respect to crossing 5), Dr. Crocq reported " qu'il etait 

 brother and sister rabbits for five or materiellement impossible que M. Le- 

 six successive generations with no grain ait fait les experiences qu'il 

 consequent evil results. I was so annonce." To this public accusation 

 much surprised at this account, and no satisfactory answer was made. 



