310 DADD'S VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 
dom; fur he has bred from the pure Blakewell blood for siaty- 
five years, without the aid of any other sort or kind, and bred 
from his own flock for upward of fifty years, maintaining siz 
weight, and constitution. I have known Mr. Barford’s flock fus 
upward of half a century, and they appear as strong ao their 
stamina as when I first saw them. Mr. Barford does nct use a 
ram unless he has a wide loin, a large breast and collar, and very 
wide between the forelegs, all of which points denote a hale con- 
stitution, Although in-and-in breeding has beat thousands to a 
stand, Mr. Barford still shines in it.” 
Therefore I contend that great advantages are derived from pre- 
serving the breed pure and in making proper selections. I have 
been very much pleased in perusing some remarks made by San- 
FORD Howarp, angl published in the ‘“ New England Farmer ;” 
and, as they happen to have a direct bearing on our subject, I 
here give them: 
“What is breeding im-and-in? While some apply the term 
only to animals distantly related, he conceived the only true idea 
of the matter to be that it applied to creatures of the same blood. 
The consequences of breeding in-and-in, he believed, might be 
either good or bad, and depended wholly on the skill of the 
breeder. As proof that breeding in-and-in was not contrary te 
Nature, he referred to birds, the buffalo, etc., in a wild state. It 
is known that they breed in-and-in constantly, and yet no deterio- 
ration takes place. He had known geese to be propagated in this 
way for forty years, and not the slightest depreciation in size, 
quality, or feather was visible in them. Still cases could be cited 
where breeding in-and-in had produced bad results, yet these 
might be attributed to imperfections in the parent stock. It is 
only necessary to select perfect specimens.” 
Having now attempted to show that in-and-in breeding is in 
accordance with Nature, and that the birth of inferior and defect-. 
ive animals, under this rule, resulted from the breeder’s ignorance 
or neglect in making proper selections, I shall next introduce some 
remarks of 2 general character. 
Permanent Varieties.—In-and-in breeding should he practiced 
in view of some specific object; namely, perpetuating species capa- 
ble of constantly and permanently transmitting characteristic pecu- 
liarities, such as may be observed in any particular permanent 
variety. As an illustration of the same. we offer the French 
