CROSS BREEDING. 189 



idea of crossing breed with breed. At one time 

 it was carried to an immoderate extent, and in 

 the hands of ignorant experimenters all man- 

 ner of errors were committed, and these mis- 

 takes not infrequently led to serious permanent 

 harm. Other breeders of more wisdom and 

 judgment proceeded with more care and doubt- 

 less did not a little to improve the different 

 breeds of stock. The breed lines in many cases 

 were at that time much less closely drawn than , 

 at the present day. The types were far less 

 artificially differentiated nearly everywhere. 

 If, however, it is true, as maintained by Dar- 

 win, Rutimeyer, and other men of science, that 

 the European breeds of cattle are descended 

 from three aboriginal and quite distinct spe- 

 cies, then it is likely that 'in some cases there 

 w r ere more extreme differences among European 

 cattle in an earlier day than exist now, and it is 

 perhaps to the constant experimentation with 

 cross breeding that we owe the assimilation to 

 a general type which existed in the early part 

 of the eighteenth century and which more 

 readily yielded to variation than could have 

 been expected from the original type. How- 

 ever this may be, up to the time of Bakewell 

 improvement was chiefly sought through 

 crosses, and this method had the approval of 

 all classes; of scientists and theoretical writers 

 as well as experimenters and practical farmers. 





