Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-05-11


produce great result
Again he says: "Selection may be fol.
lowed either methodically and inten-
tionally, or unconsciously and uninten-
tionally. Man may select and preserve
each successive variation, with the dis
tinct intention of improving and alter
Ing breed. in accordance with pre-
conceived idea; and by thus adding up
variations. often so slight as to be i'm
perceptible by an uneducated eye, he
has effected wonderful changes and i'm
prOvements. 1t can, also. be clearly
shown that man, without any Intention
or thought of improving the breed, by
preserving in each successive generation
the individuals which he prizes most,
and by destroying the worthless indi-
viduals, slowly though surely induces
great changes. As the will of man thus
comes into play, we can understand how
it is that domesticated breeds show
adaptation to his wants and pleasures.
We can further understand how 1t is
that domestic races of animals and cul-
tivated races of plants often exhibit an
abnormal character as compared with
natural species for they have been mod
flied not for their own benefit, but for
that of man."
John Fiske. in Excursions Of an EvO-
lutionist," says: "rhe instances are very
snI in tuli nj
and very marked ones, too-have been
wrought in the characteristics of plants
and animals through the agency of man.
The phenomena of variation presented
by animals and plants under domestlca-
ton are so numerous and so complex
that it would require many volumes to
describe them. Dogs, horses, pigs. cat
tie, sheep, rabbits, pigeons, poultry,
sik-moths, cereal and culinary plants,
fruits and flowers innumerable have been
reared and bred by man for many long
ages,-sOme of them from time imme-
mortal. These domestcated organisms
man has caused to vary, in one direction
or another, to suit his natural or artifi-
cal needs. or even the mere within of his
fancy. The variations, moreover, which
have thus been produced have been
neither slight nor unimportant, and
have been by no means confined to SUI
perficial characteristics. Compare the
thoroughbred race-horse with the gigan-
tic London dray-hOrse on the one hand,
and the Shetland pony on the other; or,
among pigeons, contrast the pouter with
the fan-tai, the barb, the shnrt-faced
lumber, or the iacObn, all of which are
historically known to have descended
from enc and the same ancestral form.
whole bOny framework as well as
throughout the muscular and nervous
systems, and exceed in amount the diff
ferences by which naturalsts often
adjudge species to be distinct. Through
what agency has man produced such re-
suits as these? He has produced them
simply by taking advantage of a slight
tendency TO variation which exists per-
petually in all plants and animals, and
which exhibits itself in the simple fact
that nowhere do we ever find any two
individuals exactly alike. Taking adj
vantage of these individual variations,
the breeder simply selects the individuals
which best suit his purpose, and breeds
them apart by themselves. The quail
ties for which they are selected are pro-
pagated and enhanced through inheri-
lance and renewed selection in each sue
ceeding generation, until by the slow
accumulation of small differences new
race is formed. And thus we have
peaches and almonds from a common
source, grapes to eat and grapes to make
wine of, pointer dogs and mastifis, and
so on throughout the list of cultivated
plants and dOmesticated animals
1t should not be forgotten that Nature
herself is the great breeder, not only en-
failing inheritances, or creating with
force, but also making her
own selections through the great law of
the survival of the fittest.
But if man can get what he breeds for,
it is very evident that he should breed
for the best. In late years the principal
efforts of American breeders of horses of
the roadster class have been directed to
produce the fastest trotter or PAGER.
These efforts have been remarkably sue
cessful, but certain results of form. style
and uniformity have been largely over
looked or sacrificed. 1t would seem to be
full time when higher aim should be
attempted. Not the fastest horse, but
the best horse, should be the object of
breeding. For him who achieves this
standard there will be abundance of
room. To meet this want the Morgan
Register has been established. Its
object, also, is to produce this horse as a
type, so that in every colt we shall be
reasonably sure to get the horse we want
And the means used are what are believ-
ed to be a necessary means for such
result, blood basis, which will permit