332 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



merely studied the external characteristics of animals, and 

 used the greatest skill in coupling those having a proper 

 combination of points, without seeking any improvement 

 in feeding, he would now be regarded as the greatest im- 

 prover of cattle and sheep ? Perhaps some one may answer 

 that breeding and feeding for beef is different in principle 

 from feeding for milk ; but, since milk is made from the 

 blood at the same degree of elaboration, as fits it for assim- 

 ilation into the tissues, and that what goes to lay on fat or 

 build up flesh in the stall-fed animal goes to the udder in 

 the milch cow, whatever food will do in increasing the apt- 

 ness of an animal to fatten, and in laying on and flavoring 

 flesh, it will do, directed by intelligence, in increasing the 

 secretion and improving the quality of milk. In 'philoso- 

 phy and fact, the quality and quantity of milk is as per- 

 fectly controlled by quality and quantity of food as is the 

 quality and weight of flesh laid upon a stall-fed .animal. 

 When, by skill in feeding, you have developed a particular 

 part or secretion, you may often succeed in fixing this in 

 the progeny by breeding. 'We may, therefore, properly 

 credit feeding 'with the beginning of all development. 

 Food must first create the improvement, and then breeding 

 and feeding must continue it. This statement has no 

 reference to the improvement made on scrub animals by 

 crossing thoroughbreds on them. Here the improved 

 blood raises the standard of the inferior blood ; but the 

 progeny is only an improvement on the inferior animal. 

 When we speak of improvement by feeding, we mean an 

 improvement on the best blood of the race experimented 

 on. Example : Suppose we take a Short-horn, Ayrshire, 

 Jersey or other breed, the improvement must be over any 

 of its known ancestors. All these improvements require 

 much time ; and, therefore, an improved milking strain 

 of blood is of great value, and its value is in proportion to 

 its fixed character. But these fixed characteristics cannot 



