258 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



individual of that tribe will reproduce itself in its offspring. 

 This is true of every one of the distinct breeds of cattle, and 

 indeed of every species of our domestic animals. It is as true 

 of the gamecock or the dorking as of the racehorse or the 

 pointer. The distinct breeds or races of our cattle are all the 

 result of attention to this great principle. Some of the breeds 

 are more artificial than others where care has alone been ob- 

 served to keep pure the blood of a family originally strongly 

 marked. These more artificial breeds have been the result of 

 greater care and skill on the part of the breeders, and their 

 excellence has in many cases been proportionate to the care 

 bestowed upon them. They are none the less entitled to the 

 distinction of being thorough bred than are any of the older 

 breeds, since their characteristics are as thoroughly impressed 

 upon their tribes, and are as surely transmitted.* As a rule, 

 an animal of one of the distinct and recognized breeds of ani- 

 mals is sure to impress upon its descendants the characteristics 

 of its own breed or blood. So unerring is this transmission of 

 inbred qualities, that a good breeder would on no account use 

 the services of a bull not thorough bred, preferring the use of 

 an inferior animal of undoubted pedigree to that of a bull of 

 impure blood, though perhaps the more elegant and apparently 

 more valuable of the two. Of course there are occasional ex- 

 ceptions to this, as to most general rules. In the hands of un- 

 skilful breeders, under the influence of accident, undue exposure, 

 unfavorable circumstances of feed and climate, and perhaps 

 other causes, individuals, and indeed whole families, of a cer- 



* In explanation of our meaning, we may, as examples of what we style an 

 original breed, point to the Devon cattle and the Arabian horse ; while the short- 

 horn and the English racer may be styled more artificial. In the cases of the for- 

 mer animals, the memory of man does not extend to the time when they were not 

 marked and distinguished by their present characteristics ; while the racehorse and 

 the short-horns have been moulded by the skill and science of intelligent breeders. 



A writer upon sporting dogs, remarking upon the power man in his intelligence 

 possesses over even animal matter, illustrates the impression made upon the nature 

 of the pointer dog, whose standi points are so remarkable. Originally the dog 

 paused when scenting his game, preparatory to making a spring. Men, observing 

 this habit, endeavored to train him to stand firm. They succeeded; thus, as the 

 Writer wittily adds, " converting the semicolon of nature into the full stop of civil- 

 ization." The same course, pursued for generations, has impressed this habit upon 

 the race. 



