60 



the heifer, A, to her sire, B, than to any other bull not so 

 good in his fore quarters as B. Many people talk a great 

 deal about breeding in and in, and say (without however 

 producing any satisfactory proof ihat their assertion is 

 correct), that it weakens the constitution. But the real 

 question is, would any experienced breeder put a female to 

 a male, which, in his judgment, did not suit her, either in 

 shape or quality, because he was not related to her ; in 

 preference to putting her to a male who was related to her, 

 but who did suit her both in shape and quality. It is 

 never desirable to run counter to a generally received 

 opinion unnecessarily, even if you believe it lo be founded 

 in prejudice ; and if, therefore, a man has the opportunity 

 of breeding from perfect males and perfect females, and is 

 never obliged to breed from any animals, either male or 

 female, in which he can discern a fault, he will be wise to 

 avoid breeding in and in. Few people are, however, so 

 fortunately situated, whose judgment is sufficiently accu- 

 rate to enable them to discover faults when they are before 

 their eyes ; and therefore in every other case a breeder will 

 do better lo attend lo the peculiarities of the animals from 

 which he breeds, and put the males and females together, 

 so as to correct the defects he may see in either, than by 

 fearing to put relations together, lose the opportunity of 

 removing the defects which he may find in his stock. 



STEERS OR OXEN, FOR GRAZING. Every arable 

 farmer should of course winter in his straw-yard as many 

 beasts as he can ; the beasts so wintered at home, certainly 

 improve faster when put to grazing in the spring, than 

 beasts in the like condition that have been driven from a 

 great distance. Still, however, as many beasts are wintered 

 chiefly for their manure, on turnips and straw, in Hereford- 

 shire, Shropshire, and other counties, they are often to be 

 bought in the spring, at but a small advance of the price in 

 the autumn, which answers better than consuming a great 

 quantity of hay, and injuring pastures by treading. In the 

 handling and selecting lean steers, or oxen, the skin should 

 feel soft and pliable, not too thin nor contracted, as if it 

 could never expand to cover a well-fed, increased carcass. 

 It should feel as if there were something supple under it, 



