112 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



sum of $40,600, and will soon be on her way to England. 

 At the same time, "the Second Duke of Oneida" brought 

 $12,000 ; one hundred and eight head averaged $3,523. 



At Colling's sale, "Comet," the highest-priced animal on 

 the ground, sold for one thousand guineas, and forty-seven 

 animals averaged a little more than one hundred and forty-two 

 guineas. 



There must be something in pedigree and blood when cattle 

 sell readily at such prices. Grand results these, no hap -hazard 

 breeding here ; but the closest study and attention down the 

 line of breeders from Colling to Walcott and Campbell. 



The maxim, "penny wise and pound foolish," is never more 

 fully verified in any business than in stock-raising. It is the 

 poorest policy in the world to buy stock animals simply because 

 they are cheap. If you wish to raise stock to sell, or merely to 

 breed for your own pleasure, get the best at any reasonable 

 price. If you do not, after years of patient waiting, you will re- 

 gret, when perhaps too late to remedy your mistake, that spirit 

 of false economy which persuaded you to purchase mediocre 

 animals. Cceteris j)a7'ibus, of course the cheapest are the best. 



If a breeder wishes to make his mark, and see success in his 

 own lifetime, he must be content to learn from the example 

 and experience of his predecessors and contemporaries. Life 

 is rarely long enough for a man to start out and establish a 

 breed, although he may make vast improvements in existing 

 breeds, and place many stones in the stairway which leads 

 towards the summit of perfection. 



Breeding is a science. The field for experiment is bound- 

 less ; but only such men as Darwin mentions can reap a full 

 harvest, although many may receive adequate and even sat- 

 isfactory returns for the labor and expense incurred. Let us 

 look at some of the principles of breeding as laid down by 

 Prof. James Law, which should receive the serious attention 

 of every one who desires to be a successful breeder. 



The laws of variation, he says, are quite as important to 

 study as the laws of hereditary transmission, for without va- 

 riations improvement would be impossible. Among the causes 

 of variation are mentioned food, climate, soil, use, disuse, re- 

 version or breeding back, prepotency, imagination of the 

 mother, the influence of a former pregnancy, disease and 



