Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-01-29
agricultural, &r.
From the Hearth and HON
The Principles Of Breeding.
LECTURE BEFORE TIE MASSACHUSETTS AcRIcUL-
TrRAL COLLEGE,. BY CHARLES L FLINT


TrRAI COLLEGE,, BY CHARLES L. FLINT.
GENTLEMEN Your studies in botany hav,
taught You that, in the vegetable world, the
growth and perpetuatiJn Of plants are gov
erned BY fixed law. This principle Of fixed Law
runs through, all nature the animal as well a
the vegetable kingdom. In the matter of farm
stock, its perpeJuation is controlled by Ger
tain fixedprinciples of breeding.
There is great difference in the breeds o.
of our stock. and in animals of the breeds
Some fatten easily and come to maturity ear
ly, and others do not. Some possess remark
able milking qualities, while others yield
milk sparingly. Some are noted for then
butter qualities, and others are fine workers
Now, we want to search out and find the
rules which govern the transmission of the
various qualities, that We may be enabled at
will TO breed animals possessing the distinct
characteristics we desire. The old maxim
that Like produces like is good one, and
it Is safe to follow. But there are individu-
al cases in which il does not always hold
good. If an animal has the power to trans
NIT its own qualities, It is because 1t possess
es them of itself-that is it il inherent in the
animal If | breed with two animalsth It
are dissimilar. the one having the strongest
inherent transmitting power, or the strongest
fxity of tyre, will give character to the of
spring. ram and eve alike viii produce
lamb possessing the qualities of both par
cnts, but they will be intensified, and that
lamb viii possess more power to transmit his
qualities than did his parents. But if the
parents possess opposite qualities, the case is
very different. You are familiar with the
rules Of mathematics-let us apply them here
to make this point plain. Take two animals
similar in tvIe, but one more strongly mark
Ell than the other. let 100 represent the
quality Of one and - the other put these
animals together. and the offspring will he
represented by 100 plus -, or is But let
the parents be dissmilar. and the qualities OF
the one YOU most desire to be represented by
100, and the other by -, and the result will
be 100 minus -, OF p. This may not be
strictly and automatically true in practice.
but it is fair illustration Of the result of
such breeding 4 ram long bred in a Ger
tain line possesses long-brod powers, and viii
be likely To transmit them though they will
be weakened in his progeny from low-bred
eve. If he be very strong in this power of
transmission, he may overcome the power OF
the eve, and transmit his qualities, - that
in OUTWARD appearance the offspring may APP
pear Ike himself
\ marked case ofthis kind have had I'M
der my eye the past year. ! owned flock of
very good ewes, but of no fixed breed OF TIVE
Into this flock put long and pure-bred
Southd0Wn buck, from the farm Of Thomas
BuIum, Esq, Of Newport, r. THE same
buck which You now have on your College
farm. The result was, obtained a lot of
beautiful lambs nearly as strongly marked
with the S0uthdOwn characteristics as are
the purc-bred lambs which sec in the fields
Of the College farm They strongly resemble |
the father and have but little likeness to |
their mothers. But though they look nearly |
as well as your lambs, they viii not compare
with them in value for breeding purposes.
This then may be laid down as one Of the |
first principles of breeding. that long-hred an /
finals have the most power 70 transmit their |
qualities, and if animals possessing this pow |
er in different degrees are put together. the /
one in which this power predominates will |
give the character to the progeny. Mate a |
Galloway bull. for instance. with a native
COW, and the calf will, as a general thing be
hOrness. Put ram without horns with /
ewes with horns, and most Of the lambs will /
be without horns-that is, they take the
characteristics of the father rather than the
dam; and this rule holds good generally in
breeding, though, like all other rules. 1t has.
OF course, Its exceptions Hence. If this DO
sition be correct. the first principle which the
good sense Of the farmer would dictate. would
be to select bull from a breed most noted
for the qualities he wishes 10 obtain in the
greatest perfection. and especially if the cow
is deficient in those qualities \ bull. for in
stance, of fine bone, and other good points in
perfection, Will make up for the deficiency of
some Of these points in the cow Breed only
from the best animals. not the best looking
merely, but those possessing the best and
strongest hereditary qualities ! have heard
practical men say that they did not cares fg
for the blood Of the animal. but wanted one
that looked right to the eye Don't be de
ceived by any such notion. Some animals
may be excellent Of themselves, but destitute
Of she power to give their qualities to their
The Cakes COW. SO celebrated
'ome years ago, i an instance in point. She
was one Of the most remarkable milking COW.
or milk and butter Of her day Where she
obtained her qualities was never known. and
he never had calf that possessed them
Blood Is of the greatest importance, and the
onger the ancestry, the better, for the more
perfect the type, and the stronger the trans
hitting power. Ii Is essential % have a good
male, for he transmits his qualities to more
nimals than the female, has usually more
igor, and more power 10 transmit. The in !
iuence Of the male Is more generally To
ransmit the qualities of his mother: there n
ore, if you wish to breed milking stock. use
bull whose mother was a good-miker. 7
here are three general points to be sought
n breeding First milk second, beef: third J.
lbor. Milking qualities are not confined
ny race or breed, but are a characteristic of q
he species, as mammalia But high milking
ualities have become fixed in certain stock.
y their being long-bred for that purpose
he wild COW has stronger powers Of repro
uctiOn than when d0mesticated, aud the
over to produce milk is hereditary. but the
over to give milk in large quantities and
II a long time is the result Of breeding. NJ
he Texas COW gives milk but heifer from
ne of those COWS by pure-bred bull would
E destroyed when she produced young bv the
ldden change in her milking organization {
sr system could not endure the strain. her -
ider would be incuably diseased. and she
Ould die. As good diary qualities have I
en- bred in the COW, great care should be :
ken that they do not deteriorate. for they VII
We constant tendency to return to their g ,gl
Id state.