EXPLANATION OF A c HIT.' 217 



the field for particular qualities, and have been put to the stud, 

 and perhaps to bitches totally unlike themselves. But their sons 

 and daughters have still, though only half of their blood, been 

 expected to carry on the whole of their characteristics, and have con- 

 sequently failed in pleasing their owner, who perhaps was wedded 

 to the peculiarities of their sire. In order to recover those peculi- 

 arities, he has had recourse to the old stock, or a son perhaps by 

 another bitch, and with the happiest effect ; because if the sire and 

 dam were half brother and sister, the produce would be composed 

 as follows, viz. one-half of the grandsire whose blood is prized, and 

 the other half made up of equal proportions of the blood of the 

 two granddams ; and the consequence would be that the half 

 would preponderate over each of the quarters, in the proportion of 

 two to one. This is still more clear the further the remove, since 

 sometimes, without any very near breeding ' in and in,' you may 

 succeed in obtaining two or three quarters of a particular blood, 

 and not more than one-sixteenth or one-twenty-fourth of any other 

 distinct and separate strain. As an illustration of this principle, 

 though- not in a very high degree, the pedigree of ( Blacklock ' * 

 may be taken. This celebrated flyer was composed of five- 

 sixteenths ( Streamer ' blood, four-sixteenths ( Emperor ' blood, 

 and the remainder of smaller proportions belonging to various 

 bitches ; the consequence has been that his stock have all inherited 

 the peculiarities of ' Streamer,' and none that I ever heard of have 

 followed those of ( Emperor,' though the balance was only as five 

 to four. Another illustration may be afforded in the produce of 



* For pedigrees, &c., of the dogs alluded to, see Appendix. 



