LINE BREEDING. 113 



it is under the view that close interbreeding of 

 the same family for generations leads to a pos- 

 itive evil. It after all matters little whether 

 one perishes of a negative or a positive evil. 



A recent writer* would seem to make the 

 lines so narrow as to claim an exclusive right 

 for cattle in-and-in or line bred to the term 

 " high bred." Says he: "High breeding implies 

 a careful selection of breeding animals within 

 the limits of a family with reference to a par- 

 ticular type and regardless of relationships. 

 High-bred animals are not necessarily in-and- 

 in bred, although from the system of selection 

 practiced they must be closely bred to a greater 

 or less extent." Surely there are many very 

 high bred animals which have been bred other- 

 wise than "within the limits of a family/' and 

 yet some writers and breeders would really 

 seem to regard "close relationships" I quote 

 from the author just cited as "the necessary 

 incidents of their practice," although some 

 admit that as to the early improvers "close 

 breeding with them was but a means of im- 

 provement and not an end that was thought 

 to be desirable in itself." Such a distinction, 

 however true originally, can seldom be main- 

 tained long in practice, especially if that prac- 

 tice is common to a large number of men. It 

 is very easy to mistake an incident or concom- 



* Miles, " Stock-Breeding," p. 139. 



