ADVANTAGES, ETC. 105 



Breeders very often fancy that they put two animals together 

 which are without any corresponding lines or strains of blood in 

 their composition ; whereas, in point of fact, the relationship exists 

 only four or five degrees off. The horse and mare are, perhaps, 

 fourth or fifth cousins, often second or third ; but, in examining 

 the Stud-book, the blood of the sire, grandsire, and great-grandsire 

 is apt to be forgotten, because it is not given, the name only being 

 mentioned In the book to which I have already alluded, I have 

 inserted a long series of pedigree tables, drawn out to the sixth 

 generation, with a reference also to the earlier pedigrees; by 

 which, at one glance, the breeder may see how constantly, in 

 going back, the same names occur in every table. Eclipse, Herod, 

 and Conductor, the three contemporary descendants of the Darley 

 Arab, the Byerly Turk, and the Godolphin Barb, or one of their 

 immediate descendants, will be seen in the fifth, sixth, and seventh 

 remove of all our thorough-bred horses, and often the names of all 

 three will be found repeated four, five, or six times apiece ; ye,t the 

 horse itself whose pedigree is being examined, as in the instance 

 of Teddington, is considered to be the produce of a cross, and is 

 not, therefore said to be in-bred. 



ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH PLAN. 



HAVING THUS EXPLAINED the meaning of the two terms, and 

 having, in "British Rural Sports," collected a series of examples 

 of success in crossing nearly equal in number to those adduced in 

 which in-breeding had been resorted to advantageously, I shall 

 now proceed to say a few words upon the probable advantages to 

 be derived from each plan. In the first place, it may be laid 

 down that nearly an equal number of good horses have lately been 

 bred by adopting either mode of proceeding ; but no first-rate horse 

 has appeared whose parents were incestuously allied. In the second 

 place, it may be gathered from experiments with horses and other 

 domestic animals, that very close in-breeding, continued for any 

 length of time, is apt to develop the weak points in the constitu- 

 tions of the breed in which it is adopted. The cautious breeder, 

 therefore will do well to avoid running this risk, and will strive to 

 obtain what he wants without having recourse to the practice, 

 though, at the same time, he will make up his mind that it is 

 unwise to sacrifice a single point with this view. Experience 

 tells us that it is useless to expect to develop a new property or 

 quality in the next generation, by putting a female entirely 

 deprived of it to a male which possesses it even in a marked 

 degree. Some instances of success will attend the adoption of 

 this course, but as a rule it cannot be relied on in the majority of 

 instances. Thus, a slow, stout mare, containing no lines of fast 

 Hood in her pedigree, will not be likely to breed a fast colt, though 



