Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1904-03-02
THE FIRST CROSS.
The Main Reason why II Is So Eff
fective and Pleasing.

The Main Reason why II Is So Eff
fective and Pleasing.
All our readers who have used thor
oughbred animals, even if only OF fair
quality, on the common stock of the
country have been both surprised and
delighted at the results of the first
cross. Part Of Thu Is no doubt due to
the superior care whict the farmer will
give to the get of a sire for which he
has paid good round sum of money
In fact. one of the great benefits of the
introduction of thoroughbred blood,
whether of animals or plants, is that it
encourages the farmer to give better
care or cultivation, as the case may be.
This, however, does not altogether ac-
count for it,
One of the reasons and the main rea-
son why this first cross is so effective is
that there is no particular prepotency
in the blood Of the common stock of the
country. II has been cross bred, indis-
criminately bred and so altogether
mixed up that no particular animal has
any particular potency or prepotency.
When prepotent blood is crossed with
this the offspring. therefore, take main
ly after the sire. In other words, the
influence of the sire is preponderating
in fact, dominating and controlling.
We remember reading somewhere of an
attempt to Introduce Il breed of English
mutton sheep on the sheep Of a partlcu-
lar district in France. Cross breeding
failed because the sheep TO be improved
had been bred so long in that particular
climate that they were almost as pre-
potent or, as the farmer would say, as
strong blooded, as the animal intro
duced. On the border land, however,
between this strain and another strain
where there had been some cross breed
ing the crossing with the English sheep
became very effective-that is. the lines
Of prepotency in the native stock had
been broken up, and hence the English
blood became the controlling force
Horse breeders have noticed that
ten produces the colts most like the sire
and for the same reason. 1t is always ii
safe proposition TO introduce any kind Of
improved blood for crossing or using on
the mixed stock.
Breeders have often noticed that no
subsequent cross has eyer the same Wis
ible effect as the first when that cross
has been Oh the common stock of mixed
breeding. 1t requires great deal more
judgment to introduce the second cross
than the first, and here Is where the
breeder has an opportunity of eXercis-
ing superior judgment No sire is per-
and in his get, and sometimes defects APP
pear in his get which had not appeared
in the sire, the result of the Inheritance
in blood which for some reason had not
used n herd bull which was a remarka-
bly, smooth, level and exceedingly fine
animal. We were greatly surprised to
find that the majority of his get drop
ped little just behind the shoulders
The bull showed nothing Of this, but
evidently it had come down from some
ancestor; therefore the sire should be
selected with view of correcting the
defects in his get Wherever that de-
feet may be the succeeding sire should
be particularly strong in this point.
If any man makes half the advance
with the second crossing that he did in
the first, he should be satisfied and the |
greater number of crosses the smaller |
Improvement will be |
made, partly because there Is less room
for improvement and partly because
there is more and more similarity in
the blood Wallace's Farmer.