72 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



few years, I would select two or three 

 rams, (not of the large lot,) and breed ex- 

 clusively from them. Then repeat the 

 whole process ; and so on, for about thirty 

 years. During the whole period, the flock 

 kept in this manner, perfectly to itself, ex- 

 hibited no sign of depreciation. I com- 

 menced with two bucks and twenty ewes, 

 of pure blood. As the ewes of this vari- 

 ety of sheep will have young at two years 

 of age, and very often at a year old, I have 

 in this experiment, had at least fifteen gen- 

 erations pass under rny notice. I may 

 add, that at the end of thirty years, I bred 

 the flock to two Rambolliet bucks, from 

 which I have three crops of young ; but I 

 do not perceive any other change than 

 such as belongs to the two families of 

 sheep. I consider the experiment conclu- 

 sive, that a flock of sheep does not require 

 any outside cross, in order to avoid in-and- 

 in breeding. 



6. 1 have a very deep impression, that 

 hereditary qualities which are personal, 

 are transmitted most across the sexes. — 

 Qualities which belong to a whole race, 

 may be expected in every one of that 

 race. But if one or more of these quali- 

 ties happen to exist in a most striking de- 

 gree in a particular animal of that race, 

 this excess of excellence is personal to that 

 animal ; and I mean to say, this personal 

 quality will be propagated by that animal, 

 in the young which is of opposite sex to it- 

 self, rather than in the young of its own 

 sex. If you breed to a male, no matter of 

 what race of animals, whose qualities you 

 consider remarkable, be sure to keep his 

 female issue, and vice versa. If you want 

 a male as near like him as you can make 

 it, breed back one of his female get to 

 him, and save the male issue. Keep the 

 matter to yourself, if you like, as the Col- 

 lings in England did. They went mainly 

 by the eye and by guess ; I have told you, 

 as I think, the principle in this section. 



AGRICOLA. 



Adoption of a Dog instead of its Foal by 

 a Mare. 



A thorough bred mare belonging to a 

 gentleman in Mid-Lothian was expected 

 to foal on the 25th of last June. On the 

 8th of June she was observed to be unwell, 

 showing great stiffness and pain in the 

 legs, and cold generally all over the body. ] 



The udder was distended to an unusual 

 size with milk, and there was wax at the 

 teats; there was not, however, the least 

 loosening of the ligature at the root of the 

 tail, but everything was as close and firm 

 there as if she were not in foal. The 

 owner thought it advisable to call in a vet- 

 erinary surgeon, who bled the mare, and 

 gave it as his opinion that she would not 

 foal for ten days at soonest. She was tied 

 up in a stall till the wound would be healed, 

 and was watched day and night. In the 

 same stable with her were another horse, 

 and three terrier dogs which lay under 

 the mangers, one or tw T o of them always 

 being under her manger, for which she • 

 contracted a liking. 



On the 10th June she show T ed no unea- 

 siness or symptoms whatever of foaling. 

 The person in charge of her, however, 

 having occasion to leave the stable for an 

 hour in the afternoon, was surprised to 

 find on his return a lively foal tumbling 

 about the stable, and the mare quietly 

 eating. Assistance was immediately pro- 

 cured J the mare was loosed and brought 

 to the foal, which was carried to a loose- 

 box, with her close behind it. The foal, 

 though small, was very spirited, and was 

 soon on its legs gamboling about the house, 

 and always attempted to get near its 

 mother. She, on the other hand, positive- 

 ly refused to have anything to do with it, 

 and every time it approached her, rudely 

 pushed it away, so much so as to alarm 

 those who were in charge that she would 

 injure it. This continued for several 

 hours without any apparent change in her 

 feelings towards the foal. There being 

 an abundant flow of milk from her, the 

 twitch was put on so as to allow the foal 

 to suck a little. While in the loose-house 

 she always showed great restlessness, and 

 looked impatiently at the door, as if ex- 

 pecting something. 



It was thought that, by removing her to 

 the stable again, she would more readily 

 adopt the foal. This was accordingly 

 done ; the foal was carried and laid where 

 it was first found, and the mare allowed to 

 go loose. Another horse was in the 

 stable, which wag three-stalled. Immedi- 

 ately on entering the stable she began to 

 smell along the floor, apparently in the 

 tract taken by the foal before it was dis- 

 covered. This she continued to do till she 

 reached one of the dogs, which was lying 



