198 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



corrected in the fineness of the other ; or the opposite may occur, 

 and an almost or quite perfect progeny may be the result of their 

 union. And so with other quahties. Extremes of size, in both 

 sire and dam, may, in some instances, be coupled together, except 

 in great size of the sire, and diminutive smallness in the dam ; and 

 such should not be bred together; but the conditions and sexes 

 may be reversed, as the finer bull to the coarser cow, to great 

 advantage. A Kttle explanation is here necessary. As a rule, 

 cows of a small breed should not be bred to bulls of a much 

 larger breed, as a Devon, or Alderney, or even a diminutive 

 native cow, to a Short-horn bull. "We except the Short-horn 

 bull, or whatever other breed of large cattle he may be, for this 

 reason: The foetus, or embryo calf, will partake more or less of 

 the character of the sire. If the formation be large, after the 

 sire, the growth of the foetus will be correspondingly large, 

 needing an undue amount of nourishment, and taxing heavily 

 the energies of the cow to carry it forward to parturition; and 

 at the time of birth it may be so large that the cow will be 

 unable, of herself, to deliver it — and sometimes, even with the 

 assistance of a farrier — alive. "We . have known small cows to 

 die under the process, and others to have the calf dissected m 

 pieces to be delivered, when with a calf of her own kind, no 

 danger would ensue. The contrast of size was too violent for 

 safety to either the calf or its dam. 



Another ill effect from this coupling of the large bull with the 

 small cow is, that for the want of sufficient room in the womb 

 of tlie cow while growing, the fcetus becomes ill-shaped, and the 

 proper proportions of the limbs are not extended as they should 

 be. The consequence is a badly formed offspring. But in 

 putting the larger cow to the smaller bull, the case is reversed, 

 and a finely formed calf is the result. This latter is the true 

 way to breed the larger and smaller classes together. Still, if it 

 bo necessary to breed the larger kind of bull to the smaller cows. 



