EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI EIVEE. 665 



Charles Darwin, in liis "Animals and Plants under Domestication," 

 says: 



When two distinct races are crossed, it is notorious that the. tendency in the off- 

 spring to revert to one or both parent forms is strong and endures for many gener- 

 ations, and this strong tendency in crossed breeds to revert has given rise to endless 

 disoxissions in liowmauy generations after a single cross, either with a distinct breed 

 or merely with an inferior animal, the breed maybe considered as pure and free 

 from all danger of reversion. No one supposes that less than three generations suf- 

 fices, and most breeders think that six, seven, or eight are necessary, and some go to 

 still greater length. But neither in the case of a breed which has been contaminal ed 

 by a single cross, nor when, in the attempt to form an intermediate breed, half-bred 

 animals have been matched together during many generations, can any rule be laid 

 down bow soon the tendency to reversion will be obliterated. It depends on the 

 difference in the strength or prepotency of transmission in the two parent forms, on 

 their actual amount of difference, and on the nature of the conditions of life to which 

 the crossed offspring are opposed. * * * As a general rule, crossed offspring in the 

 generations are nearly intermediate between their parents, but the grandchildren 

 and succeeding generations continually revert, in a greater or lesser degree, to one 

 or both of their progenitors. 



In the inception and development of the improved Kentucky sheep, 

 Col. Scott did not limit himself to the crossing of two varieties, but 

 availed himself of several — the native, the Saxony Merino, the South- 

 down, the Cotswold, and a slight infusion of the Oxfordshire and the 

 Teeswater. Here was an attempted amalgamation of blood which was 

 sometimes refractory, would not fuse, and tended to reversion, to 

 prevent which the Cotswold blood was almost continually used. The 

 consequence was that after Col. Scott's death the flock not being bred 

 with the required care and watchfulness it lost its characteristics, and 

 as a distinct race of sheep the improved Kentucky has disappeared. 

 There is probably not a flock in the whole State. 



A low-grade Leicester sheep was common in the early history of the 

 State, but it was not until about 1830 that any pure-bred Leicesters 

 were introduced. Shortly after this time Henry Clay placed some 

 imported ones on his farm at Ashland, following which many were 

 imported from Canada and taken in from the Northern States. 



Other breeds of sheep were, from time to time, taken into the State, 

 but as a general thing they found but little favor, and, by 1865, were 

 discarded for the Kentuckian's favorites, the Southdown s, the Cotswold 

 and Scott's Kentucky sheep. The latter had grown into great favor; 

 the Cotswold, outside the blue-grass counties, was very popular ; but the 

 glory of the blue-grass country was the Southdown. It was and still 

 is the aristocratic sheep of Kentucky and divides with the generous 

 people of that State their love for horses and Shorthorn cattle. Its 

 popularity is unrivaled and it has almost superseded all other improved 



sheep. 



The pure-bred Southdowns were introduced into Kentucky soon after 

 their importation into Pennsylvania, by J. Hare Powell, in 1824 and 1825, 

 and the climate and grasses were so well adapted to them and they 



