320 THE CROSSING, AC, OF CATTLE, ET AL. 



its organs, be not of proportionate size, with the other 

 features ( — and the disproportion may lie, either, in 

 being smaller, or larger, in proportion, than the other 

 organs, and, even though the organ, out of proportion, 

 be greatly superior in size to the same organ, as it 

 exists in the other individuals — ), the evil manifesting 

 itself in interbreeding, will, other things equal, be many 

 fold greater, than in the smaller, well-proportioned in- 

 dividuals. There is, however, a limit which may be 

 reached, to the size to which some organs, — notably 

 those obviously of vital importance to the organic 

 economy, — may be proportionately reduced, with but 

 little evil resulting. 



It is therefore, evident, that, breeders need not fear 

 to reduce the size, if they have retained, as far as pos- 

 sible, the proportion of the characters. The interests 

 of the breeder, and of the animal, are, generally, in the 

 long run, identical. But, where the gain to the breeder, 

 is so great, — as, in the instance of Bakewell's breeding 

 small Sheep, for the purpose named, in the case of 

 pushing the development of the wool in Sheep to an 

 advanced degree, and in the extreme development of 

 the udders in a small breed of Cattle, say, the Alder- 

 ney, — and the injury to the animal is so little and so 

 remote in its manifestation, the animals' interests may 

 justly be made subordinate. Breeders, however, in 

 their ignorance of the true laws of growth, and of inter- 

 breeding, work adversely to their own, and to the 

 animals' interests, by suffering disproportion to exist 

 in parts and organs which it is a matter of indifference, 

 with them, whether they are developed or reduced, 



