110 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



from it the characters of the parent organism, is the backbone 

 of all success. 



3. That we can in a great degree, at will, produce variations 

 and improvements in breeds, as by an abundant feeding, a mild, 

 salubrious climate, a rich, healthy soil, a moderate use, educa- 

 tion, stimulation or selection of desirable qualities. A disuse 

 or rejection of undesirable characters and properties, by solicit- 

 ing the weight of imagination in our favor, by allowing the 

 breeding animals to mix only with those of the stamp desired, 

 by crossing less improved breeds systematically by males of a 

 better race, by crossing animals faulty or deficient in some par- 

 ticular point with others in which this point is developed in 

 excess. 



4. That the herding together of pregnant high-class animals 

 and low-bred ones, and above all attachments formed between 

 the two races, is to be specially avoided, as occasionally afTect- 

 ing the progeny injuriously, and that strong mental impres- 

 sions from a new or unusual condition of surrounding objects 

 are to be equally avoided. 



5. That if the valuable female is allowed to breed to an in- 

 ferior male she cannot be relied upon to produce pure-bred 

 animals for several succeeding pregnancies thereafter. Through 

 a strong and retained mental impression, through an absorption 

 into her system of living particles (germinal matter) from the 

 foetus, or through some influence during pregnancy on those 

 ova then being most actively developed, the good or bad features 

 of the first sire are perpetuated in the progeny of succeeding 

 ones. 



G. That all breeds show a tendency to breed back or pro- 

 duce an offspring bearing the marks of their less improved and 

 comparatively valueless ancestors, so that individuals of this 

 kind must be rejected from the best breeds if we would main- 

 tain their excellence. 



7. That certain races and individuals have their characters 

 more fixed, and will transmit and perpetuate them in greater 

 ]iroportion than others with which they may be crossed, so that 

 if their qualities are desirable ones, they prove highly valuable 

 in raising other stock to higher excellence. If undesirable, on 

 the other hand, they will, as in the case of the coarse-woolled 

 •Gorman ram, depreciate the value of any stock crossed for many 



