THE ZETLAND BREED. 299 



circumstance may be expected to increase the profits of the 

 producers of cattle, and enable them gradually to extend 

 their supplies of artificial food. 



A question of economical importance is, the manner in 

 which the existing race of Zetland can be improved. The 

 first means, certainly, are a better system of feeding and 

 general treatment, applied to the animals when young. The 

 next mode is the introduction of suitable males for breeding. 

 These might be obtained from the West Highlands, but the 

 end would probably be still more effectually attained by re- 

 sorting to Norway, where excellent bulls of the parent stock 

 can be obtained with facility. 



It is remarkable, that the little cattle of these islands 

 form admirable first crosses with superior breeds, as the 

 Short-horned ; but this system of crossing, though it may be 

 more profitable to individual breeders, can do nothing for the 

 general improvement of the stock of the country itself. The 

 animals reared must be of a kind suited to the conditions in 

 which they are placed. They must be small, hardy, and 

 adapted to the state of agriculture which circumstances 

 allow to be pursued. 



The same general remarks will apply to the cattle of the 

 Orkney Islands. These likewise present the traces of their 

 Scandinavian descent, but they are greatly more mixed with 

 the races of the Main. In particular, many bulls of coarse 

 form have been introduced from Caithness, itself possessing a 

 mixed breed, and thus herds, without definite characters, are 

 everywhere produced. 



In every considerable tract of country, it may be observed, 

 many advantages result from possessing a well defined breed. 

 In this case, the breeder has merely to select for propagation 

 the best animals of the race. He has the assurance that the 

 progeny will possess the general characters which he wishes 

 to communicate. But when there is no distinct breed, in the 

 ordinary sense of the term, his expectations will be con- 

 tinually subject to disappointment, by the progeny present- 



