A TREATISE ON BREEDING 59 



peraments. There might be exceptions, and supposing a 

 sound, strong bitch to be produced by the incestuous inter- 

 course of a brother and sister, a father and daughter, or a son 

 and mother — supposing this bitch to turn out a fairly good 

 performer and eventually to be mated with a dog of a distinct 

 strain — it is possible, nay, probable, that the progeny would 

 distinguish themselves ; that is, if their incestuous grand- 

 parents were the representatives of a robust and successful 

 strain. Personally we are testing this theory, and so far it has 

 been borne out to the letter ; but the difficulty in procuring a 

 strong and healthy bitch as the result of too close inbreeding 

 is so great that we do not advise our readers to follow our 

 example ; for in our case the original dam was the result of an 

 accidental union of brother and sister, and we should not 

 have thought of deliberately setting about such an experiment ; 

 but having thus produced a winning bitch that was likewise 

 blessed with a hardy constitution, we bred out, and in her 

 first litter she produced a winner, and in her next (to Green- 

 tick) she had four. There is one noticeable peculiarity in this 

 bitch which may be attributable to her origin : she has had 

 three litters, but twice she has only thrown two puppies and 

 once four. 



Having now discussed the theory of breeding, we will pro- 

 ceed to the practical part, which is quite as important, though 

 it does not afford so much food for reflection, certain data 

 being always present, and years of experience having immutably 

 fixed the mode of procedure. 



