12 PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. 



he laid his plans and struggled against many disap- 

 pointments, amid the ridicule and predictions of failure 

 freely bestowed by his neighbors, — often against serious 

 pecuniary embarrassments ; and at last was crowned by 

 a wonderful degree of success. When he commenced 

 letting his rams, (a system first introduced by him and 

 adhered to during his life, in place of selling,) they 

 brought him lYs. 6d. each, for the season. This was 

 ten years after he commenced his improvements. Soon 

 the price came to a guinea, then to two or three guin- 

 eas — rapidly increasing with the reputation of his stock, 

 until in 1784, they brought him 100 guineas each ! 

 Five years later his lettings for one season amounted 

 to $30,000 ! 



With all his skill and success he seemed afraid lest 

 others might profit by the knowledge he had so labori- 

 ously acquired. He put no pen to paper and at death 

 left not even the slightest memorandum throwing light 

 upon his operations, and it is chiefly through his cotem- 

 poraries, who gathered somewhat from verbal commu- 

 nications, that we know anything regarding them. 

 From these we learn that he formed an ideal standard 

 in his own mind and then endeavored, first by a wide 

 selection and a judicious and discriminating coupling, 

 to obtain the type desired, and then by close breeding, 

 connected with rigorous weeding out, to perpetuate 

 and fix it. 



