214 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
that after his death the stock declined, but under the 
guidance of his master mind, no degeneracy was indica¬ 
ted. He made such selections of animals for breeders, 
in the beginning, as suited his judgment, but afterwards 
confined himself to his own stock; but it has been ob¬ 
served that his stock was so large as to furnish unusual 
facilities. 
Crossing long-wooled with short-wooled sheep, and 
breeding from the issue, is commonly considered injudi¬ 
cious, and in general the plan does not succeed, yet ex¬ 
amples may be cited to show that great success has some¬ 
times followed its adoption. 
Mr. Twynam, of the county of Hants, Eng*., has for 
twelve or fourteen years been engaged in breeding a 
race of sheep from an original cross of the Cots wold and 
South Down. His sheep sustain a very high character, 
and he has carried many prizes on them. Count de Gour- 
cy, in the account of his late tour through England and 
Scotland, speaks of them in the highest terms, both those 
which he saw in the possession of Mr. Twynam, and of 
the same stock which he saw on the pattern farm of Lord 
Ducie, under the direction of Mr. Morton. The Count 
states that Mr. Twynam has for a few years past, sold 
many of his sheep to be sent to Australia, India, &c.* 
Another striking example is that of the Anglo Merino 
sheep of Lord Western. He commenced his experi¬ 
ments about the year 1812, with some sheep presented 
him by George III., which that monarch had received 
from Spain. The peculiar race to which he has given 
the name of Anglo Merino, were produced by a cross of 
the Spanish with the English long-wooled sheep—the 
object of Lord Western being, as he has declared, the 
production of a Merino fleece on a Leicester carcass. 
His first crosses were with the Leicesters, and afterwards 
with the Cotswolds and the Kent long-wooled sheep. 
His success, up to this time, has been very satisfactory. 
He has obtained a carcass weighing at two years old from 
a hundred and twenty to a hundred and thirty-five pounds 
nett, selling at a high price to the butchers, and has ob¬ 
tained at the same time a fleece averaging nearly six 
pounds of w'ashed wool, commanding a price in market 
nearly equal to full blood Merino. His flock of breeding 
ewes, of the cross-bred stock, is about eighty in number. 
It is not now intended to recommend these modes of 
breeding, but to show from these examples, (and others 
might be given,) that men who thoroughly understand 
the business, with a sufficient range for selection, may 
effect improvement by either of them. But the breeder 
must not be confined to too small a number of animals— 
he should have so many to choose from that there may 
be an opportunity of obtaining the points he wishes for, 
without concomitant defects. Range for selection is very 
important, and much disappointment has frequently been 
experienced from inattention to this particular. Some 
seem to have an idea that to obtain a superior stock it is 
only necessary to procure a single pair of animals of the 
breed desired, and leave them to an indiscriminate copu¬ 
lation. The expectations of farmers are often highly 
raised from the circumstance of a few improved animals 
being brought into their neighborhood, and it appears to 
be supposed that in the course of a few generations their 
whole stock will possess the blood and perfections of the 
new breed. These expectations are seldom realized. 
From the limited chance for selection, animals having 
the same defects are permitted to breed together, and the 
consequence is that these defects become more and more 
conspicuous with every generation, so long as the inju¬ 
dicious course is followed, the stock degenerates and 
dwindles away to worthlessness, perhaps, even before 
the sanguine, but dull-sighted owner is aware of it. This 
consequence may perhaps follow sooner where stock is 
bred from close affinities of blood, but if the selection of 
breeders is confined to the progeny of only two or three 
animals, it is almost impossible to avoid degeneracy. 
It is often remarked that high bred animals, as they 
are called, (or perhaps we should say high-bred fattening 
animals,) do not breed readily. In animals of this cha¬ 
racter, a sort of artificial temperament or constitution 
’ The Mark-Lane Express of May 13th last, gives an account of a 
show of animals which had just been held in England, at which Mr. 
Twynam carried the prize for the “ best ram of any kind, breed or 
seems to take place—a change somewhat analogous to 
that which not unfrequently occurs in plants. An ex¬ 
traordinary development of one class of organs is fre¬ 
quently attended with a greater or less defect in other 
organs. Strawberries and other fruits, of a size much 
greater than is common with the species, are sometimes 
produced. But they are generally much less prolific 
than other kinds which show no extraordinary departure 
from the original or natural characteristics of the race. 
The flowers of some plants by cultivation become double. 
In this case, the stamens, or one portion of the procrea¬ 
tive organs, are converted into petals—the plants become 
monsters; and are either totally barren or produce only 
a small quantity of imperfect seed. So with certain ani¬ 
mals, cultivation has partially changed their constitution 
—their procreative faculties are weakened—the energies 
of the organs of generation become as it were swallowed 
up by the fat-secreting organs—and the animal is either 
incapable of propagation, or begets only a feeble pro¬ 
geny.* 
The skillful breeder will be always on his guard 
against this defect, or monstrosity —he will take care that 
no one property is cultivated to the sacrifice or injury of 
any other essential one—he will not encourage the fat¬ 
forming organs to such a degree that the generating or¬ 
gans of his animals become weakened, and consequently 
the constitutions of their offspring impaired. Vigorous 
and energetic animals should always be chosen for pro¬ 
pagation—and the ultimate success of those breeders will 
be greatest, who pay due regard to the proper balance of 
the animal system. 
In reply to an inquiry by Professor Emmons, “ which 
of the parents has most influence on the progeny?” Mr. 
Howard said—that was a question on which even “ doc¬ 
tors disagree.” Some few years ago, the Rev. Henry 
Berry, of England, wrote a prize essay on this very 
question, and the ground he took was, that where both 
parents are equal in strength or purity of blood, the in¬ 
fluence of each on the progeny is equal. 
It is, however, reasonable to suppose, that in some 
respects this influence of the parents cannot be equal; 
and that the theory is well founded that the constitutional 
qualities, nervous temperament, &c., are more likely to 
resemble the dam, and the external qualities, such as out¬ 
ward form, color, hair, &c., to resemble the sire. Many 
examples might be cited in support of this theory. Ma¬ 
ny farmers have noticed how much more likely their 
animals are to inherit the diseases of their dams, than 
their sires. When we consider that the animal is sup¬ 
ported during the foetal stage of its existence entirely 
from the blood of the mother, and that this blood, cir¬ 
culating through every part of the system would, of 
course, be affected by the state of the animal's health, 
this consequence would seem to be perfectly natural. 
On the other hand it has been noticed that the outward 
features of the sire, more frequently than those of the 
dam, are enstamped on the progeny. This has been at¬ 
tributed to the nervous influence of the dam—or what is 
called the influence of the imagination of the dam on 
the fostus. Practical men believe there is something in 
this. Professional breeders avail themselves of the prin 
ciple in giving to their animals some desired marks o* 
qualities. It must have been something akin to this, by 
the influence of which, through the medium of peeled 
rods, Jacob caused the cattle to be born “ ringed, streak¬ 
ed, and speckled.” Breeders of horses sometimes take 
great pains to operate on the imagination of the mare, 
and thus produce in the foal certain characteristics. At 
the time of conception, or within the first month after¬ 
wards, the foetus seems to be particularly susceptible to 
this influence, and it is not difficult to produce the chang¬ 
es spoken of. Some striking instances of the effect of 
this sympathetic influence, might be given. One of the 
most remarkable, perhaps, as showing the evidence of 
anterior excitement, is that of a mare, seven-eighths of 
Arabian blood, after having produced a foal by a stallion 
quagga, (a species of zebra,) continued, after a lapse of 
five years to reproduce the markings of that animal, at 
* Barrenness of females seems in some cases to result from exces¬ 
sive venereal excitement. Cases of this kind are entirely distinct, and 
are the result of a different cause from the imbecility here alluded » 
