IN THE POULTRY YARD. 45 
has held equally in other departments—even in insects. In the 
“ Dictionary of Practical Apiculture” I find the law laid down very 
clearly under the word “ Breed.” ‘The author says: 
“Tn attempting to establish a new breed or to improve an old 
one, we must, contrary to the usual opinion, pursue a reletitless 
system of breeding in-and-in, and it is here that the skill and judg- 
ment of the expert breeder will be most fully shown. We have on 
the one hand the danger of weakening the constitution of our 
stock, and on the other, the danger of producing a lot of mongrels 
without any fixed characteristics. The experience of all great 
cattle breeders has shown that it is only by in-and-in breeding that 
the tendency to “cry back” can be eliminated, and these men have 
also shown that when sufficient care is exercised in the selection of 
the breeding stock, the danger of weakening the constitution is not 
to be feared. In this connection it should be remembered that all 
the well-marked native races of bees must have been produced by 
a series of in-and-in breedings, combined with a system of natural 
selection, which allowed the survival of none but the fittest—all 
the weak and non-prolific, and all the poor honey-gatherers being 
killed off during severe seasons. It is the same here as with the 
great herds of cattle and horses which roam at large in various 
countries. The most powerful and active bull or stallion obtains 
the leadership of the herd and breeds in-and-in with his own 
cousins, sisters, and even daughters, until one of his progeny, more 
powerful than he, displaces him in turn. But here we have the 
weak and feeble calves an foals selected by the forces of nature 
with better judgment than ever man exercised, and killed off by the 
inclemency of the weather as surely as ever butcher’s knife did its 
work.” 
But my object was not to build up a new breed, but merely to 
improve an old flock. Therefore I could not afford to make such a 
study of my birds as would enable me to work out such matings as 
would successfully counteract the evils of in-and-in breeding. Bu: 
so far as mere uniformity and excellence of the individual birds 
were concerned, my success was all that I could wish. By using 
