VrEST OF ENGLAND VETERINARY WEDICAL.ASSOCIATION. 373 
particularly for his kindness in coming to the rescue when he had 
been several times disappointed in obtaining a paper for the meet¬ 
ing. He considered the subject of the day’s discussion—although 
it may be somewhat extra-professional, not the less important to 
them as veterinarians. He quite agreed with Mr. Barford that 
sufficient attention was not paid to the breeding of the animals by 
agriculturists, yet there are many men who devote a considerable 
amount of skill and capital, who had been and are most successful 
in establishing and keeping up the pure breeds of our domestic 
animals. Coming, as he did, from a part of the country where one 
of the most beautiful and symmetrical of our breeds of cattle (the 
North Devons) is to be found in all its purity, he could bear testi¬ 
mony to the care that w^as exercised by such men as the Quartly’s 
and Davey’s. Climate and soil have much to do with preserving 
certain breeds, as it was very w^ell known to those wdio have opportuni¬ 
ties of watching its effects—instance, how much the mountain sheep 
of Exmoor differ from the pure Leicesters of the richer pastures; 
the Shetland and Exmoor ponies from the dray horse bred in 
Lincoln and Northamptonshire, and the tendency of these breeds, in 
the course of generations, to adapt themselves to localities and 
climates. With regard to the principles of in and in breeding he 
agreed in a very great measure with the essayist, species should not 
be confounded with breeds. The progeny of two different species 
were hybrids, and nature had kindly interposed to prevent their 
fecundity. The hare and the rabbit, the dog and the fox, the horse 
and the ass, may commingle, but their progeny is usually sterile. 
By careful selection of parents of the same species, although differ¬ 
ing in a great measure in shape and form, new breeds may be 
established in a few generations, becoming, as Darwin would say, 
fixed in their type. To carry out this system effectually it is found 
necessary to breed from families closely allied, always bearing in 
mind that infirmities of constitution must be avoided. With re¬ 
spect to the crossing of breeds, much advantage, in many cases, 
may he derived from it, but he somewhat differed from the lecturer 
inasmuch as he (the president) believed that the cross should be on 
the side of the female, and that the purity of breed should be on 
the side of the male, as he regarded the influence of the latter as 
dominant, especially in external form. He instanced this in the 
crossing of the Southdown ram with the Leicester or palefaced ewe. 
The great majority of lambs would be undoubtedly blackfaced. 
Again, the horn ram with the Notts ewe, the lambs would show 
the horns ; but try the contrary cross, and horns on the heads of 
the lambs would be found the exception. Again, the progeny of 
the (Red) North Devon bull with the party-coloured shorthorn or 
Guernsey cow very seldom indeed showed any white ; but try the 
opposite, and the colour would follow the bull. Extreme crosses 
should be avoided, especially in breeding horses. The thorough¬ 
bred mare or the small pony should not be mated with the heavy 
carthorse, nor should the contrary be tried in the hope of hitting 
the happy medium, for in nineteen cases in twenty the attempt 
