278 BREEDING AND CROSSING. 



2)ortioned at first, as nature abhors sudden extremes, and does 

 everything in the most gradual manner. We must not imag- 

 ine that when, by dint of crossing, we have obtained the 

 variety wanted, that it will remain in the condition we have 

 brought it, without the slightest liability to alter. Many far- 

 mers believe they have done all that is required, if they 

 subject their stock to three or four crossings with a breed of 

 acknowledged excellence. They think that the improved 

 animals they have obtained will support their acquired char- 

 acters, uninfluenced by extraneous agency. Now nothing can 

 be more faulty than this mode of management, as is proved 

 by a comparison of stock so treated, with flocks which have 

 uninterruptedly received that undeviating attention which can 

 alone ensure a continuance of the properties desired. Such 

 men forget that the climate is operating with as great certainty 

 as on the rocks around ; and that as the herbage is determined 

 by the nature of the adjacent rocks, so are the peculiarities 

 of the sheep influenced by the herbage ; and that if they man- 

 age to change the characters of the breed, it can, in a majority 

 of cases, be only for a time, unless the tendencies of the sur- 

 rounding elements are counteracted by a constant recurrence 

 to the originators of the flock. 



" In crossing we must beware of the tendencies which 

 nature, in numerous instances, displays to perpetuate dis- 

 eases, dispositions, and aberrations of the normal structure. 

 A predisposition to many diseases is engendered in the sheep, 

 by too great refinement in breeding, which tends to diininish 

 the size of the animal, prevents them feeding to perfection, de- 

 stroys their fecundity, and imparts great tenderness of con- 

 stitution. Accidental deviations from the natural type may, 

 also, be hereditary, as is seen in those races of dogs which 

 have a supernumerary toe on the hind foot, and tarsal bones 

 to correspond. In the human race, also, several gener- 

 ations of a particular family have been distinguished by 

 having six fingers and six toes on their hands and feet. It 

 is in like manner to an accidental malformation, that the 

 Americans are indebted for their Otter breed of sheep." 



BREEDING REGISTER. 



It is of the highest importance that every sheep-farmer 

 who aspires to distinction and success in his profession, and 

 more especially those who are strictly professional breeders, 

 should properly classify their sheep, and keep a record of 



