106 THE HOUSE. 



put to a flying stallion, whose blood is not stout in a considerable 

 proportion of his ancestry. Two or three consecutive crosses with 

 the same or similar blood will almost of a surety effect the object; 

 but the first will rarely do so. Again, we know, if we put two 

 animals together, equally in-bred or equally crossed, the produce 

 is, on the whole, as likely to resemble the one parent as the other, 

 though there may be a difference of opinion as to particular points. 

 But, if not thus equally composed of similar elements, the more 

 in-bred parent will be represented in a greater proportion than 

 the crossed one ; and hence it follows, that if it is desired to keep 

 up the qualities of the horse or mare in his or her descendant, the 

 mate must be selected, if possible, less in-bred than he or she is. 

 West Australian himself and his stock are excellent examples of 

 this theory. His sire, Melbourne, was the result of a series of 

 crosses ; while his dam, Mowerina, was in-bred to Whalebone and 

 Whisker, own brothers ; and her sire and dam were second cousins. 

 The result has been, that both in " The West" and in his stock 

 the Whalebone element has been universally manifested, and not 

 the slightest trace of Melbourne has ever appeared, as far as my 

 knowledge of his stock allows me to judge. This is in perfect 

 accordance with the 13th anxiom in the epitome of the laws 

 which govern the breeding of our domestic animals. (See page 

 101.) 



CAUSES OF A "HIT." 



A " HIT," in breeding, is understood to mean an instance of suc- 

 cess ; but though it often occurs, the reason for it is not always 

 very clear. My own belief is that it generally results, as I have 

 laid down in the 16th axiom, from the reunion of lines which have 

 been often kept separate for several generations. Thus, it is a 

 fact (so patent that every writer on the breeding of the horse, of 

 late years, has admitted its truth), that the Touchstone and Sultan 

 blood have almost invariably hit. The reason, granting the pre- 

 mises which I lay down, is plain enough each goes back to Selim, 

 the former through the dam of his sire, Camel, and the latter being 

 son of that horse. Many other examples of a similar nature might 

 be adduced, though not observed so extensively as in the case of 

 Touchstone, because few horses have been put to so many mares 

 as he has. I do not mean to assert that no hit can occur without 

 such a reunion of previously separated lines, but I believe that, 

 under other circumstances, it will rarely be found to show itself; 

 and if, as I before observed, there is a relationship between all 

 thorough-bred horses, either remote or near, there must be ' this 

 reunion to some extent. This, however, is not what I mean ; the 

 return must be to a line only removed two, three, or four genera- 

 tions, in order to be at all marked; and if more than these inter- 



