make small cattle heavier and better with scanty feeding, by merely crossing them with bulls of a larger kind, of better milking or fattening qualities-which absolutely demand a better feeding-will surely wait in vain for permanently favorable results from his procedure, but will injure his original stock instead of improving them.

Crosses may be instituted for various purposes. They may be:

1. A regular and constant crossing, the object of which is to establish a' new tribe. In cases where the present stock does not meet the demands of the owners, and the necessary means for procuring a new stock are wanting, the breeders, if they always exclude their own bulls from breeding, procure bulls from the tribe with which the crosses were commenced, may gradually exterminate the original type and supplant the tribe introduced, even to a small fraction of its totality.

2. A merely transient cross. If an in-and-in bred tribe lack the one or the other desirable qualities in regard to form, size or usefulness, &c., which are hard to acquire, or only after too long a period of time by in-and-in breeding, these properties may often be acquired safer and sooner by crossing them for one, two, or three generations with suitable bulls of another

race.

3. A variable cross.-If certain points in respect to form, maturity of development, or useful qualities, can not be attained by an amalgamation of two different races, it may sometimes be accomplished by again crossing the tribe already mixed with a third race, or by a combination of three kinds of blood. This method has long since been pursued by the English, and in more recent times adapted by the French; extraordinary success has resulted from it which could not have been attained by a single admixture of blood. As early as 1856, at the great cattle show in Paris, excellent productions of such double crossing were exhibited; for instance of the Durham, Swytz, and Normandy races. It was attempted to improve the Normandy race by Swytz blood, and in order to obtain fine bones, a rapid development, and better fattening qualities, an additional crossing with Durham bulls was resorted to. In France such double crosses have been instituted with the Durham, Holland, and Flemish races, and also with the Durham, Ayreshire and Breton races. Of course, the last mentioned double crosses requires a thorough knowledge of the races, and great caution as to the selection of the animals and the length of time for which it is to be carried on; for otherwise it must prove injurious.

Finally, as to the question how long a cross once commenced is to be continued, no general answer can be given, but this depends on various influences and circumstances. If the crossed races are originally near akin (of a homogeneous nature), the object aimed at will always be accomplished

within a shorter space of time. Besides, the more feeding, keeping, and use made of the animals are conformed to the natural condition of the new tribe, and the more favorable the climatic influences are, the sooner the crossing may terminate. But if the contrary is the case to a greater or less extent, it will take more time to produce even less perfect specimens, and as much longer period of time will be required to firmly establish the desired qualities in the offspring. Yet the crossing must always be continued till the productions have attained to a somewhat higher degree of improvement than was at first intended. A gradual deterioration of animals of mixed blood in their forms and qualities may generally be expected; but by pursuing the method just named, the desirable properties may be conserved for a long period of time.

The majority of rational breeders still contend that in any, even long continued crossing, a fraction of the common blood of the original tribe expressible in figures, will always remain in the improved animals, according to the amount of which reappearances of ancestral defects or back breeding may be expected in the future. The calculable process of improvement in a tribe is stated at the end of this paper.

From this it will be seen that great results may be derived from a cross on a small scale, if rationally managed, and if the necessary means for purchasing and proper feeding of suitable animals are provided. But to improve whole breeds and tribes requires very great care and a large sum of money, therefore crossing should take place to a limited extent only.

Crosses instituted and managed according to rational principles, and constantly aiming at fixed objects, are very advantageous and profitable; but, on the other hand, the disadvantages resulting from senseless and irrational mixtures of blood are very great and injurious. It frequently happens from ignorance that unsuitable animals of different tribes and breeds are bred together; now as these animals are heterogeneous to each other, and possess the defects of both tribes or breeds; and furthermore, since these admixtures of blood do not receive the proper attention in the feeding, keeping, and use of the animals, worthless productions of a bad form and color, and little utility will result. Any one directing his attention to this subject can not fail to observe the numerous defective animals possess ing unpleasing shades of color, all the defects possible in their form with scarcely any useful qualities. But as in such an irrational method of breeding, these half-breed animals again are paired ad libitum, or being paired to one another, the results must grow worse and worse, and thus the families, breeds, and tribes of cattle must gradually deteriorate. It is this method of crossing against which rational breeders have always contended and must still contend for a long time. As to the ignorance alluded to, from

which such a pernicious method of breeding originates, we will quote here the words of Wolstein, the venerable instructor at the Veterinary School of Vienna. In his book "On Diseases of Cattle," 1789, he says: "The farmer only who raises grapes and vegetables is instructed in his business, but the farmer who raises cattle knows nothing. He can not distinguish the breeds and tribes; he does not know what are bastards, or improved animals, or originals, "&c.

But frequently false parsimony and unpardonable indifference are the causes of such senseless pairing, and often the finest and best tribes of cattle are thereby ruined. This ought to be severely reprimanded, since such bad examples may be followed by others. Against this method followed even for a short time, the following experiences may serve as warnings

It has often been observed in horses, hogs, and sheep, that the first impregnation of the female determined, to a greater or less extent, the character of the ensuing progeny. In the dog cases are on record where the first impregnation evidently had an influence upon the two ensuing conceptions. These experiences have been doubted by some, from the fact that in the human family it has been observed that adulterous wives bore children resembling their legitimate husbands; hence the proverb: "The child of adultry palliates the mother's shame; " but this only goes to confirm the observations in inferior animals above stated. There have also been cases, doubted by some writers, yet positively asserted by others, where widows having had children by their first husband and living happy with the second, bore children by the latter strangely resembling the former. Several special cases of the so-called infection of the cow by the first impregnation, are stated in Fuchs' Pathological Anatomy of Domestic Animals, which we will insert here.

James McGillavary, Veterinarian at Hantly, in the Aberdeen Journal, says: "When a cow of the pure Aberdeen race is covered by a Shorthorn Teeswater bull, the blood of the cow becomes the more changed, the more the calf resembles the bull, and afterwards she no longer produces a calf of pure race or blood. It is apparent that the great variety of forms in herds is chiefly owing to this admixture of blood in the cow through the first bull covering her. A cow of the Aberdeen race was covered by a bull of the pure Teeswater race, and she bore a calf being a cross between the two races. In the following year a bull of her own race was brought to her, but the calf was likewise of a mixed race, and when two years old had very long horns, although both its parents had very short horns. In 1845, another young Aberdeen cow was covered by a bull descending from a cross between a cow crossed with a Teeswater bull. She brought forth a mongrel calf; and when afterwards paired with a bull of her own race, she likewise bore a cross calf so far as to form as well as

color were concerned. Fuchs himself communicates the following: In the years 1830-'40 while I was Veterinarian in the veterinary circuit of Schleiden, Malmedy, and Montjoie, I was consulted by a community in regard to an unpleasant occurrence among them. This community preferred the uniformly brown color in cattle to any other color, and yet it happened that the rubican offspring increased in numbers. Upon inquiry I learned that some years previous a rubican bull had been kept in the herd, but as soon as the rubican offspring appeared, he had been removed and supplanted by another entirely brown one. Nevertheless it was observed that uniformly brown cows covered by this bull brought forth rubican calves. Although similar cases may not be known, yet these undeniable experiences of unprejudiced breeders ought to caution against suffering cows of pure races to be covered, even transiently, by bulls of other races, for otherwise the surety of their hereditary transmission will be impaired. We will yet add the remark, that hunters have long since known the infection of bitches, for the designation of which the term "back breeding" is used in the sporting language."

By refreshing or revival of blood we understand the bringing together of new pairs of female with new male animals of the same tribe and breed, with which either in-and-in breeding was commenced, or a cross instituted in a staple or breed of cattle not long established by crossing. This is necessary whenever a decrease in the size or the beauty of form is noticed, or a breeding back or a degeneration is observed.

The greater the distance of the districts whence the animals are brought for forming a new staple or breed, and the less the conditions under which they are to live at their new home-feeding, keeping, use and climate do agree with them, (animals brought from moist and fertile districts into dry regions producing less fodder,) the more difficult it will be for them to become acclimated, whereby even their productiveness may be more or less impaired, and the sooner a renewal of blood will become necessary in such case. Likewise the refreshing of blood will be inevitable sooner or later, under such unfavorable circumstances as those just described, to which attention. must be paid in the one case as well as in the other; for, otherwise serious disappointment will occur, or the newly created breeds of cattle will be abandoned in the belief that they cannot be preserved while they might have been brought to the former desirable condition by a subsequent renewal of blood and be perpetuated.

But if several renewals can not consolidate a live stock newly introduced or formed by crosses, then these breeds ought not to be kept, but supplanted by others.

Yet in the history of cattle breeding there have been cases where it was deemed advisable for certain reasons to have renewal of blood in tribes formed by crosses which after some length of time had been developed into constant breeds or tribes. But it was not always found advantageous to introduce male breeders of the same races or tribes with which the tribe had originally been formed. Such a tribe produced by in-and-in breeding or crossing is after a long series of years oftentimes somewhat changed by specialities in feeding, by the use to which the animals are devoted, and by climatic influences, so that their further improvement can not be accom. plished by the blood originally used for this purpose, but by the introduction of another race, or by a careful selection of the animals breeding inand in.

DEFINITIONS AND EXPERIENCES IN BREEDING.

Original animals.-All those descending directly from a known race, breed, or family, either born, or at least conceived in their original native country, are called original animals. Instance: Durham cattle born in their native district, or conceived there and born and reared with us; but by original descent is understood the descent from animals conceived and born by original animals without their native country.

Bastards are the descendants from pairings of common with generally acknowledged improved animals; but mongrels are the production by the two animals neither of which belonging to any acknowledged improved

race.

Breeding back, in general, are called those descendants in families or breeds formed by crossing, which show the nature and properties of the common ancestors on the mother's side used for forming the new breed.

Breeding back and degeneration are here fully synonymous. But in purely bred breeds or tribes degeneration designates that state of individual descendants bearing the characteristics not of their immediate parents, but of their grand or great grand parents; this degeneration consists mostly in the color, but degenerations in the other sense of the term may also occur. Degeneration generally reaches back no farther than to the fourth or fifth generation. (In man, degeneration after the grand parents is called ativism.)

Blood and race are synonymous terms in breeding.

By constancy is designated the ability in animals of transmitting surely and fully all the internal and external qualities peculiar to their tribe or breed to their descendants, which ability may have originated from the long continued and constant pairing of animals of the same or of different breeds, even if they were crosses produced through several generations.