878 YETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



precaution in his power to insure that he obtains this 

 complete suitability of stock and land. 



In making his selection, he should be mainly guided by 

 the reputation of the farm and district for the various 

 classes of animals, and by the experience of the residents 

 of the district. He should not attempt to fly in the face 

 of the predilection of certain classes of stock for certain 

 places for the sake of a strong fancy for some particular 

 breed which is not so eminently suitable, as disappoint- 

 ment can be the only result. 



Throughout the world there are certain farms, districts, 

 and countries which have earned a reputation for producing 

 certain classes of stock to perfection, often in spite of the 

 utmost carelessness in breeding. This is due to the 

 exceptional suitability of these places to the particular 

 class of stock raised, and is well instanced in the pre- 

 dominance of Ireland in producing all classes of light 

 horses. 



Attempts may be made to supply the deficiencies of the 

 soil by artificial means ; for instance, on some farms which 

 do not produce sufficient bone of the right class, owing 

 to a lack of lime-salts and phosphates in the soil, phos- 

 phates and bone-meal may be supplied to the young stock 

 from an early age, but the result, in our experience, has 

 never been satisfactory, and often not appreciable. It 

 would appear to be necessary to present the required salts 

 in their natural condition in the food and water in order to 

 produce the desired result. 



As a very marked instance of the effect of the influence of 

 land and locality on the stock raised on it, we would point 

 to the marked difference in type between the North Devon 

 breed of cattle and the South Devon or South Ham breed, 

 sometimes also called the Somerset Devon. 



There is every evidence that these two breeds originally 

 sprung from the same stock, but owing to the marked 

 difference in the character of the soil on which they have 

 been raised for centuries, they have now become widely 

 different in type, although retaining the same colour and 



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