THE LAW OF PROGRESS 
if the purchaser desires to breed them, he 
will find it a very difficult thing to do and 
the results are not apt to be satisfactory. 
The laws of heredity are so little 
understood that most people, in trying to. 
improve their live stock, are apt to injure 
it by improper mating. The art of breed- 
ing is so difficult to learn and practice 
that most people who undertake it are 
foredoomed to disappointment and failure. 
So true is this that Darwin has remarked: 
‘““Not one man in a thousand has accuracy 
of eye and judgment sufficient to become 
‘an eminent breeder. If gifted with these 
qualities, and he studies his subject for 
years, and devotes his lifetime to it with 
indomitable perseverance, he will succeed, 
and may make great improvements; if he 
lacks any of these qualities, he will surely 
fail. Few would readily believe in the 
natural capacity and years of practice 
requisite to become even a skillful pigeon- 
fancier.”’ 
The laws governing the tendency to 
vary in all living organisms are so little 
understood that the results sought and 
desired from any mating, that we are able 
to make, are seldom, if ever, realized be- 
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