PRESENT PRACTICE IN BREEDING. 73 



never reflecting, as they gaze upon these mis-shapen 

 animals, that Nature will not go out of her course 

 to oblige them, but that, in the animal creation, 

 " like begets like." Neither does the evil stop 

 here. So much is this made a matter of chance 

 instead of one of judgment, should the produce of a 

 mare sent to one of these bad stallions be a filly 

 foal, and she proves so defective in shape and action 

 as to be unsaleable at a remunerating price, she 

 remains the property of her breeder, and in time 

 becomes herself a brood-mare. What, then, can be 

 expected from such produce ? Why, unless chance 

 steps in and supplies the defect of judgment, by 

 the procreative powers of the male, in the case of a 

 better sire being selected, so far exceeding those 

 of the female, as to produce a foal free from the 

 defects of the dam, another shapeless, unprofitable 

 animal is produced. Nevertheless, in the course of 

 time, perhaps this produce, if a female, however 

 bad she may prove, is also bred from, and thus a 

 suocession of shapeless horses is produced, to the 

 certain loss of the breeder, and much to the injury 

 of the community. Under the most favourable 

 circumstances, and with the aid of good judgment, 

 we cannot consider horse-breeding to be a certain 

 source of gain ; yet there are many inducements 

 to try it as one branch of rural economics. The 

 money goes out a little at a time, or by degrees, 

 and therefore it is suitable to such occupiers of land 

 as cannot embark in more extensive speculations, 

 and it returns in a lump, oftentimes at a most wel- 

 come moment, and, in many instances, of sufiicient 



G 



