362 
On the Breedinr/, Feeding, &,'C. of Sheep. 
weights. I have also endeavoured to weigh my sheep as nearly at 
the same time of the day as I possibly could. I believe in all 
trials of animals a number should be taken for the experiment, and 
never less than six or eight. I generally, in the following ac- 
counts, have selected eight lambs, as it is the average of the lot 
that must be looked at, and not the individual increase of any one 
of them. It is astonishing sometimes to find so much variation as 
I have seen among a lot without any apparent cause ; some may 
not have been in good health when the weighing day came, have 
had a little scour upon them, and others may not have taken so 
much food as usual. The sheep with which the following expe- 
riments were made were all of the Leicester breed, and bred by 
myself. Being a ram breeder, perhaps it will be received with 
some suspicion when I state, that it is of the greatest'possible ad- 
vantage, in order to get a good breed of sheep, that the very best 
rams should be procured; nevertheless it is true, for I have had 
abundant proofs that the produce inherit considerably more of the 
qualities of the male (whether good or bad) than they do from the 
female; indeed, I consider the male almost everything in getting 
a good animal : I do not, however, wish to be understood that the 
properties of the female are quite inactive in the process of gene- 
ration, and that the produce does not in a measure partake of her 
qualities. 1 would recommend that the greatest care should be 
taken in drawing the ewes for the rams, so that \\ henever there is 
a defect in the one, it may be counteracted by the others possessing 
good points in that particular. Great difference of opinion exists 
whether it is right or not to cross animals in breeding. By 
crossing: I do not mean mixing two distinct breeds, but chan'rina' 
from one flock to another of the same breed ; many are the 
advocates for it, whilst a few persons contend for breeding in and 
in. From a long experience and close attention to the subject for 
more than twenty years, my mind seems more disposed to favour 
the latter than the former. I do not, however, recommend that 
animals closely allied by blood should be put together generally; 
yet I have known very good sheep, for instance, produced by put- 
ting the son of a ram called A to a daughter of A, in cases where 
their points would suit each other ; and I should never hesitate in 
doing so. I cannot see tlie utility of crossing for the sake of cross- 
ing or changing, unless I can perceive superior qualities in another 
person's flock which mine do not possess ; even in that case if 
my neighbour's flock were not quite so well bred as my own, I should 
long hesitate before I had anything to do with It, as the more I see 
of breeding the more I am convinced of the advantnges to be de- 
rived from using well-bred, indeed the best-bred animals. 
In the breeding of sheep there Is much to be attended to — size, 
wool, constitution, quality of mutton, form, &c. ; yet I think pro- 
