310 DADDS VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 



dom ; for he has bred from the pure Blakewell blood for sixty- 

 five years, without the aid of any other sort or kind, and bred 

 from his own flock for upward of fifty years, maintaining siz* 

 weight, and constitution. I have known Mr. Barford's flock for 

 upward of half a century, and they appear as strong in their 

 stamina as when I first saw them. Mr. Barford does not use a 

 ram unless he has a wide loin, a large breast and collar, and very 

 wide between the forelegs, all of which points denote a hale con- 

 stitution. Although in-and-in breeding has beat thousands to a 

 stand, Mr. Barford still shines in it." 



Therefore I contend that great advantages are derived from pre- 

 serving the breed pure and in making proper selections. I have 

 been very much pleased in perusing some remarks made by San- 

 ford Howard, and published in the " New England Farmer f 

 and, as they happen to have a direct bearing on our subject, I 

 here give them: 



" What is breeding in-and-in ? While some apply the term 

 only to animals distantly related, he conceived the only true idea 

 of the matter to be that it applied to creatures of the same blood. 

 The consequences of breeding in-and-in, he believed, might be 

 either good or bad, and depended wholly on the skill of the 

 breeder. As proof that breeding in-and-in was not contrary to 

 Nature, he referred to birds, the buffalo, etc., in a wild state. It 

 is known that they breed in-and-in constantly, and yet no deterio~ 

 ration takes place. He had known geese to be propagated in this 

 way for forty years, and not the slightest depreciation in size, 

 quality, or feather was visible in them. Still cases could be cited 

 where breeding in-and-in had produced bad results, yet these 

 might be attributed to imperfections in the parent stock. It ia 

 only necessary to select perfect specimens." 



Having now attempted to show that in-and-in breeding is in 

 accordance with Nature, and that the birth of inferior and defect- 

 ive animals, under this rule, resulted from the breeder's ignorance 

 or neglect in making proper selections, I shall next introduce some 

 remarks of a general character. 



Permanent Varieties. — In-and-in breeding should be practiced 

 in view of some specific object; namely, perpetuating species capa- 

 ble of constantly and permanently transmitting characteristic pecu- 

 liarities, such as may be observed in any particular permanent 

 variety. As an illustration of the same, we offer the French 



