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.