ON BREEDING. 131 



not stamping lils own form, which may be, and very 

 often is, atrocious, but that of his sire, which might 

 have been first-rate, on the stock." We should, by all 

 means, keep to the good blood ; but, at the same time, 

 we must be careful to select the best specimens of that 

 blood, if we wish to attain to high success. It is 

 owing to a strict perseverance in this plan that Mr. 

 Booth now occupies an unrivalled position as a breeder 

 of short-horned cattle. He not only kept to the right 

 strain, but he also invariably selected the best specimens 

 of that blood for his own use, and refused to part with 

 them at any price. This was a wise course, and the 

 consequence is, his stock is now so highly prized, that 

 he can command the market as he pleases. The fact 

 of its having been bred by Booth is now sufficient to 

 create a demand for any animal ; and here, it appears 

 to me, the pubHc are running in direct opposition to 

 Mr. Booth's own principles of action. The state of 

 their pocket will some day point out their mistake. 

 They will yet find that they not only require Mr. 

 Booth's blood, but also that they must have such a 

 specimen of that blood as would satisfy Mr. Booth for 

 his own use. This is the point to be looked to ; and 

 these observations are quite as applicable to the horse 

 as the cow. Take, for example, the case of own-bro- 

 thers. Although the blood is the same, they never 

 breed alike because they arc not equally perfect in all 



