BREEDING IN THE LINE.
The preferable style of breeding for the great majority of farmers to
adopt, is neither to cross, nor to breed from close affinities,
(except in rare instances and for some specific and clearly understood
purpose,) but to _breed in the line_, that is, select the breed or
race best adapted to fulfill the requirements demanded, whether it be
for the dairy, for labor or for beef in cattle, or for such
combination of these as can be had without too great sacrifice of the
principal requisite; whether for fine wool as a primary object and for
meat as a secondary one, or for mutton as a primary and wool for a
secondary object, and then procure a _pure bred_ male of the kind
determined on, and breed him to the females of the herd or of the
flock; and if these be not such as are calculated to develop his
qualities, endeavor by purchase or exchange to procure such as will.
Let the progeny of these be bred to another _pure bred_ male of the
same breed, but as distantly related to the first as may be. Let this
plan be steadily pursued, and although we cannot, without the
intervention of well bred females, obtain stock purely of kind
desired, yet in several generations, if proper care be given in the
selection of males, that each one be such as to retain and improve
upon the points gained by his predecessor, the stock for most
practical purposes will be as good as if thorough-bred. Were this plan
generally adopted, and a system of letting or exchange of males
established, the cost might be brought within the means of most
persons, and the advantages which would accrue would be almost beyond
belief.
The writer on Cattle in the Library of Useful Knowledge well
remarks:--"At the outset of his career, the farmer should have a clear
and determined conception of the object that he wishes to accomplish.
He should consider the nature of his farm; the quality, abundance or
deficiency of his pasturage, the character of the soil, the seasons of
the year when he will have plenty or deficiency of food, the locality
of his farm, the market to which he has access and the produce which
can be disposed of with greatest profit, and these things will at once
point to him the breed he should be solicitous to obtain. The man of
wealth and patriotism may have more extensive views, and nobly look to
the general improvement of cattle; but the farmer, with his limited
means and with the claims that press upon him, regards his cattle as a
valuable portion of his own little property, and on which every thing
should appear to be in natural keeping, and be turned to the best
advantage. The best beast for him is that which suits his farm the
best, and with a view to this, he studies, or ought to study, the
points and qualities of his own cattle, and those of others. The
dairyman will regard the quantity of milk--the quality--its value for
the production of butter and cheese--the time that the cow continues
in milk--the character of the breed for quietness, or as being good
nurses--the predisposition to garget or other disease, or dropping
after calving--the natural tendency to turn every thing to
nutriment--the ease with which she is fattened when given up as a
milker, and the proportion of food requisite to keep her in full milk
or to fatten her when dry. The grazier will consider the kind of beast
which his land will bear--the kind of meat most in demand in his
neighborhood--the early maturity--the quickness of fattening at any
age--the quality of the meat--the parts on which the flesh and fat are
principally laid--and more than all the hardihood and the adaptation
to the climate and soil.
In order to obtain these valuable properties the good farmer will make
himself perfectly master of the characters and qualities of his own
stock. He will trace the connection of certain good qualities and
certain bad ones, with an almost invariable peculiarity of shape and
structure; and at length he will arrive at a clear conception, not so
much of beauty of form (although that is a pleasing object to
contemplate) as of that outline and proportion of parts with which
_utility_ is oftenest combined. Then carefully viewing his stock he
will consider where they approach to, and how far they wander from,
this utility of form; and he will be anxious to preserve or to
increase the one and to supply the deficiency of the other. He will
endeavor to select from his own stock those animals that excel in the
most valuable points, and particularly those which possess the
greatest number of these points, and he will unhesitatingly condemn
every beast that manifests deficiency in any one important point. He
will not, however, too long confine himself to his own stock, unless
it be a very numerous one. The breeding from close affinities has many
advantages to a certain extent. It was the source whence sprung the
cattle and sheep of Bakewell and the superior cattle of Colling; and
to it must also be traced the speedy degeneracy, the absolute
disappearance of the New Leicester cattle, and, in the hands of many
agriculturists, the impairment of constitution and decreased value of
the New Leicester sheep and of the Short-horns. He will therefore seek
some change in his stock every second or third year, and that change
is most conveniently effected by introducing a new bull. This bull
should be of the same breed, and pure, coming from a similar pasturage
and climate, but possessing no relationship--or, at most, a very
distant one--to the stock to which he is introduced. He should bring
with him every good point which the breeder has labored to produce in
his stock, and if possible, some improvement, and especially in the
points where the old stock may have been somewhat deficient, and most
certainly he should have no manifest defect of form; and that most
essential of all qualifications, a hardy constitution, should not be
wanting.
There is one circumstance, however, which the breeder occasionally
forgets, but which is of as much importance to the permanent value of
his stock as any careful selection of animals can be--and that is,
good keeping. It has been well said that all good stock must be both
bred with attention and well fed. It is necessary that these two
essentials in this species of improvement should always accompany each
other; for without good resources of keeping, it would be vain to
attempt supporting a valuable stock. This is true with regard to the
original stock. It is yet more evident when animals are absurdly
brought from a better to a poorer soil. The original stock will
deteriorate if neglected and half-starved, and the improved breed will
lose ground even more rapidly, and to a far greater extent."
A very brief resumé of the preceding remarks may be expressed as
follows:
The Law of Similarity teaches us to select animals for breeding which
possess the desired forms and qualities in the greatest perfection and
best combination.
Regard should be had not only to the more obvious characteristics, but
also to such hereditary traits and tendencies as may be hidden from
cursory observation and demand careful and thorough investigation.
From the hereditary nature of all characteristics, whether good or
bad, we learn the importance of having all desirable qualities and
properties _thoroughly inbred_; or, in other words, so firmly fixed in
each generation, that the next is warrantably certain to present
nothing worse,--that no ill results follow from breeding back towards
some inferior ancestor,--that all undesirable traits or points be, so
far as possible, _bred out_.
So important is this consideration, that in practice, it is decidedly
preferable to employ a male of ordinary external appearance, provided
his ancestry be all which is desired, rather than a grade or
cross-bred animal, although the latter be greatly his superior in
personal beauty.
A knowledge of the Law of Divergence teaches us to avoid, for breeding
purposes, such animals as exhibit variations unfavorable to the
purpose in view; and to endeavor to perpetuate every real improvement
gained; also to secure as far as practicable, the conditions
necessary to induce or to perpetuate any improvement, such as general
treatment, food, climate, habit, &c.
Where the parents do not possess the perfection desired, selections
for coupling should be made with critical reference to correcting the
faults or deficiencies of one by corresponding excellence in the
other.
But to correct defects too much must not be attempted at once. Pairing
those very unlike, oftener results in loss than in gain. Mating a
horse for speed with a draft mare, will more likely beget progeny good
for neither, than for both. Avoid all extremes, and endeavor by
moderate degrees to obtain the object desired.
Crossing, between different breeds, for the purpose of obtaining
animals for the shambles, may be advantageously practiced to
considerable extent, but not for the production of breeding animals.
As a general rule cross-bred males should not be employed for
propagation, and cross-bred females should be served by thorough-bred
males.
In ordinary practice, breeding from near relationships is to be
_scrupulously avoided_; for certain purposes, under certain conditions
and circumstances, and in the hands of a skillful breeder, it may be
practiced with advantage, but not otherwise.
In a large majority of cases (other things being equal) we may expect
in progeny the outward form and general structure of the sire,
together with the internal qualities, constitution and nutritive
system of the dam; each, however, modified by the other.
Particular care should always be taken that the male by which the dam
first becomes pregnant is the best which can be obtained; also, that
at the time of sexual congress both are in vigorous health.
Breeding animals should not be allowed to become fat, but always kept
in thrifty condition; and such as are intended for the butcher should
never be fat but once.
In deciding with what breeds to stock a farm, endeavor to select those
best adapted to its surface, climate, and degree of fertility; also
with reference to probable demand and proximity to markets.
No expense incurred in procuring choice animals for propagation, or
any amount of skill in breeding, can supersede, or compensate for, a
lack of liberal feeding and good treatment. The better the stock, the
better care they deserve.