KNGLISH AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
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at one time with the view of obtaining animals possessing one sort 
of shape, and at another time with the view of obtaining animals 
possessing a different sort of shape, the probability is, that his stock 
will possess neither the one nor the other in any degree of perfec- 
tion. Having made this decision, he should take care that the 
individual male animal which he uses shall possess the qualities 
which he requires. In addition to this, it is of great importance 
that these qualities should have been characteristic of the family 
from which the animal is descended; and if he is old enough to 
have been the sire of any number of offspring, it is of a great deal 
more importance still that they should possess them. Because all 
the perfections of shape and quality which the best judge may wish 
to find in a male animal are, after all, only indications of what the 
stock got by him will probably be : the seeing, therefore, what 
they really are is much more satisfactory. 
There are few breeders, of cattle more especially, who breed 
upon so large a scale as to enable them to keep many male animals 
at the same time in use. A man, therefore, can usually only look 
at the general qualities of the females which he possesses, and ob- 
serve what are the faults most prevalent among them : these he 
should be particularly careful to avoid in the male which he intends 
to use. It is sometimes said that a male animal ought to have no 
faults, and undoubtedly it would be very desirable that this should 
be the case ; but, unfortunately, no such animal exists. All a man 
can do, therefore, is, to avoid putting a male and female together 
whose imperfections are the same, so as not to increase the fault 
already existing in his stock. If a man breeds upon a large scale, 
and uses several males at the same time, he can, of course, attend 
to this more effectually than if he uses only one. In this case, he 
should select and put together the males and females individually, 
so as to endeavour to correct any imperfections which either of 
them shew. Most breeders of sheep, indeed, do use more than 
one ram, and all who pretend to take any pains in improving their 
flock divide their ewes, so as to put them with the ram who will 
most probably effect this object. I need not say that those (some 
of whom, I am sorry to say, still exist) who turn two or three rams 
of different shapes and qualities into a field with all their ewes, 
without attempting to make any selection among them, have no 
right to expect to be successful breeders ; and if they do expect it, 
will certainly be disappointed. I believe the general opinion of 
breeders is, that it is disadvantageous to endeavour to correct any 
fault in the shape of a female by putting a male to her who pos- 
sesses, in extraordinary perfection, the merit in which she is defi- 
cient, but who in some other part of his shape is faulty. My 
experience leads me to say that this mode of endeavouring to cor- 
