OF BREEDING GENERALLY. 
661 
But this ought never to be depended upon, unless the sire 
or dam have very pre-eminent qualities, which it is desirable 
to possess. Crosses should be carefully guarded against, 
“ Consider well 
His lineage; what his father did of old. 
Chiefs of the pack, and first to climb the rock, 
Or plunge into the deep.’ , 
Somerville. 
In dogs of the chase, care should be taken that the dog is 
stout, his shape good, and colour of the right kind, his nose 
fine, and that he has a proper method of hunting. Be sure 
that he is no babbler or skirter. The former is the worst 
fault a hound can have, and is apt to be followed by others. 
Those that skeit are always unsteady and changing, and lose 
more foxes than they kill. If the dogs are otherwise good, 
this imperfection may be rectified by a more steady parent 
of the opposite sex. 
Breeding from the same stock is to be strictly avoided, as 
it is found that all animals (and even man himself) soon 
degenerate by too close a union in blood. If, therefore, a 
perfect race is wished, every possible attention should be 
paid to obtain alliances betwixt the sexes, by animals not 
connected by consanguinity, or at least, not very near. 
The time of producing in most animals lies with the 
female. In the dog species the spring is the usual season o f 
desire, commencing generally in February or March ; and 
this is certainly the best time of the year; for puppies 
whelped in summer are always stronger and more likely to 
be straight and firm about the joints than those of a winter 
litter, which often suffer materially from the cold, and 
become rickety. 
Thus far as regards the breeding of dogs generally ; but 
