OHAPTEE XL 



Results of First and Other Crosses. 



Influence of Crossing on Meat Quality, and on Breeding 

 Power. 



During several generations last past, the practice of 

 crossing, or using thoroughbred bulls on common cows, or 

 the best of them, has been widely advocated, and to a 

 considerable extent carried into practice, particularly by 

 the use of Short-horn bulls — and latterly of Herefords — in 

 the West. The first cross in this way seems to give satis- 

 faction ; but the reason has not, to our mind, been suffi- 

 ciently explained. If our memory is not at fault, experi- 

 ments have been somewhere made in breeding with second, 

 third, and fourth cross grades, but only with increasingly 

 unsatisfactory results, the further the cross was separated 

 from the direct influence of the common cow side in the 

 cross. And this, as well as the benefits of crossing, or 

 what is lost in one cross or gained in another, requires fur- 

 ther explanation; and fortunately the temper of the times 

 is to search out defects, as well as the sources of excellence, 

 without regard to breed or personal preferences. In this 

 spirit we will try to explain some of the fundamental facts 

 and influences that lead to success or failure in certain 

 crosses, which may suggest some things that are necessary 

 in making other crosses. 



The muscular parts of horses and cattle naturally com- 

 prise half their weight, and probably contain much more 

 than half the vascular organs and blood circulation. The 



