THE ANGORA GOAT. ]<)<) 
natural law comes into operation, which is, Diversity 
begets Variety. The more frequently individuals of 
various breeds differing from each other are united the 
greater diversity of offspring results from these unions. 
The result of frequent crosses of several breeds is, that 
the force of heredity is weakened or lost, the breed 
becomes more plastic, and many intermediate types are 
produced. From these intermediate forms, by selec- 
tion, a breed may be built up which, by rigorous 
selection and in-breeding, may be made to possess 
the mam characteristic of a distinct variety, which is 
the uniform production of individuals of one fixed type 
Of the origin of the Leicester breed of sheep little 
is known ; Bakewell, the founder of the flock, with an 
amount of illiberaflty unworthy of so distinguished a 
breeder, has carried his secret with him to the grave 
In whatever way his success was obtained, the great 
fattening qualities, fineness of bone, and early maturity 
of the breed, have caused it to be used more or less 
with most of the best long-woolled English and Scotch 
breeds, such as the Lincolns, Cotswolds, and Cheviots, 
to impart these qualities in some degree to the breeds 
mentioned. In this instance, crossing has been resorted 
to with a defined object in view, and the breeds being 
not d 1S similar, the cross has resulted successfully but 
cross-breeding with no definite plan, and in' the 
vague hope that something good may result from it is 
simply imbecility. In all cross-bred animals there is a ' 
strong tendency to revert to the original wild type of 
the breed. It would seem as if the artificial bonds of 
domestication were removed, and the race reverts to 
the original wild type of a common ancestor; as the 
savage, born beyond the reach of civilization, who has 
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