THE BREEDER.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 952, 7 May 1879, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE BREEDER.

SELECTION IN BREEDING. (From (fie Lice Utock Journal) The intelligent breeder generally utjtfce» a ti!ZoroTj» selection of breeding stock in accordance with * weMetme.i andi c-n----autent standard of excellence. When Lord Risers was asked h»»w ho sncceetled »a breeding soch fin» greyhounds, replied. "I breed many, andhanit many. 1h» writer asked the late "Edwin ilannn.» »i what proportion of the rams bred by himself b« would be willing t«» ase m b» tfocfe, and; he answered promptly, ' JSot one it* 300." t tt -» « Mrc'lHxoo, in hi* remarks m» SelecitoO »J«r 44 He wilt prove htmaelf the most «KCessf«l breeder who can select •with lb* moat correct* jndfOTent ; and it b imdottbtedly *r«« 'bat jslw success wf the maatera ol the art, who have made ■owr improved bread* what they are, ba» been laraely the result ol thsestraf-rainary mdtaami. afed skill with whieb they mad® Aside front the otuStiee of r* *—**■ which b**« beeo Am jjapto OP M V«mlioo," I■- . *4* ■ \

the art of breeding may, in fact, be epitomised in the one word "selection," which involves the application of every established principle of practice, and a consideration of the influence of every peculiarity of form. The animals selected must be adapted to some well-defined purpose in the system of management, and to the conditions in which they are placed. The principle that was first recognised : in the selection of stock was the adaptation of size to the physical features of the farm and the supply of feed. Columella notices the difference in form and disI position of cattle and sheep arising from ! the conditions in which they are placed. [ Filzherbcrt, having in mind the same | influence, says :—" And take hede where then byeste any Icane cattel or fat, and <>i_ whom, and where it km bred. For if thou bye out of a better groiinde tha:i thou haste thv stlt'e, that cattel wyll n«»» lyke with the.'" Thomas Hal?, who wrote before the marked improvement injthe different breed*, w:is made, says : —"i h.r husbandman should i»e aet|u;iiiite<s _wit .-i i the si vr r;il breed*. t!i:.t he may au;t his pi(re!L-u>: his latitl. lue kiiel- ■ ;tre hiv.l where thr-re is noiiri.'iiniit-.it. and thev ■cf.tiris the saioa where they a:i' or they will dceltii- : il;e poorer sut.liter laud*, wUich are us.:-: to hard fare, »i : l thrive ar.d fat'eii ujv»n uio.h r.vt.r . Uu-d/" The httV'itudm-tu i.-. t'> r- . lu re what w hav« «-dd < i tie-.. : tti.-y nnver thrive if traii.-»p'a:»ti-d out o: a licit irrto ;t ihtr .same holds «->o 1 «>f cittle. The husbiiudmati should have one ..f these ct.tisideratioiis in view in stocking his laud, the using them priucipallv for breed, for milk, or for work: and according as either of these is his principa: aim he is to make his purchase, one breed being litter for one of these uses, another : for another. He must also consider the i richness of his pastures, that he may sun ; the breed to that also. The experience of a Lammermuir sheepI master, as quoted by Mr. Youatt, furnishes a good illnstration of the loss involved [from lack of attention to the principle ! nnder discussion. He says, " I occupied ; a farm that had been rented by onr family for nearly half a century. On entering it, ' the Cheviot Stock was the object of our choice, and, so Ion:f as wc continued in ; possession of this breed everything pro- : ceeded with considerable success ; but the I Dtshley sheep came into fashion, and wc. : influenced by the general mania, cleared our farm of the Cheviots, and procured 1 the favorite stock. Our coarse, lean ! pastures, however, were unequal to the 1 task of supporting such heavy-bodied sheep, and they gradually dwindled away I into less and less bulk : each generation was inferior to the preceding one; and, when the spring was severe, seldom more I than two-thirds of the lambs cuuld survive ! the ravages of the storm." Another - striking example of the same kind is 5 related by Mr. T. Eilman, who says, " A remarkable case in point occurred in France some years ago, when I sent some Leicester 3heep to a French farmer, the I ewes, 60 in number, were purchased of Mr. Golding, of Bedington , the rams, four yearlings, from Sir. C. Knightly. The wool of these sheep was euonnously heavy ; the ewes cut 101b. each, the rao>3 141b. each. Th-se 3he-p beiiej managed afr.ee- the fashivn of the >oiiiv-.ns, the woot grew teas every year : that ot thwsr progeny still lighter. In six years they dipped" o llv " h. of veiy b"-l : the fourth generation became lt.ug-le-.'ge 1. their bodies ditF-ring fr>m the original sl-ock. but reseuibting the tiL.tifi.-bred Norman sheep, with whieu they had n<> relationship. Aft,-r this failure a Southdown ram was used, and the stock improved. \eC they soon mingled the common Hocks of the country, it being I found tmpi.aaible to maintain these L.-ices-ter sheep upon poor soils with bad tnaiiage- ! ment."

With reference to size, it will, without doubt, he beat to follow the advice of the author of the ft -port o>i tiie Agriculture of Argylashtre," and make selections of animals that arc r.-.ther under than t»v>.r the rcpttred standard, as there will then be a reasonable prmp. ct of improvement, and a better profit from liberal teediug. The larger breeds, on farms that aiv naturally productive, have, however, in many instances proved a failure, from defects in the system ot management. It cannot, with reason, be expected that the larger improved breeds will r- turn a satisfactory profit when suf»j-ct to the same treatment that the common stock receives on the average farms of the country ; and it is ;d-io - certain t..at the elFects of such m:i!iagein-.ut •'.ill he manifest in a rapid deterioration in their most valuable characteristic-?.

The high development of special qualities in our improved breeds, which have been obtained, as we have shown, by artificial treatment, has ntutv >idabty diminished their hardiness, and tinfi'ted them to withstand the etlects of privation and exposure. In the process of natural selection'" that prevails ani»ng wild species, those that are feeble or unhealthy die frr>m exposure, and the (maters of the herd attain their position by th ir wipenor strength and powers t>f endurance. 1 he standard of excellence in sttch ca3es is constitutional stamina and power, and the elements of deterioration are strictly excluded. In the improvement of ali domesticated varieties that are not intended tor work, selections are made on a ditLreiit Insist, that i 3 not favorable to the development, of the greatest constitutional vigor. Take the meat-producing breeds,for example, and examine carefully the tendencies of the process of improvement. Early maturity is required, and a liberal system of feeding is practised ; the wants of the animal are anticipated, and it is protected from the inclemencies "f the seasons. The animal must have a quiet disposition to be a good feeder, aud the treatment it receives tends to promote a habit of "nmterly inactivity." The best quality of flesh and a large proportion of choica parts are desirable,_ aud a certain refinement of the system is the result of the efforts to obtain ttem. Thus, step by step, as we trace the process of improvement, we find the required conditions are unfavorable to the development or retention of constitutional vigor. It is asserted by Pro. Tanner that, in the improved breeds, "The lungs and liver are found to be considerably reduced in size when compared with those possessed by animals having perfect liberty and this he attributes to the lack of acttte exercise, which is required for the 'symmetrical development of the system. Thtt breeder must not lose sight of the ! tendency to undesirable variations in j making his selections, or the defects of ; his stock may impair or even overbalance i the advantages arising from their good ; qualities. The diminution of hardiness i that results from the development of the i best feeding quality must not be allowed ! to proceed so far as to become a pre- | disposing cause of disease. Any inherited i predisposition to disease must in like [ manner be carefully avoided, and the bcu ; sanitary conditions should prevail in the system of management The tnilkin,' qualities of the meat-pro-I drtcini breeds have be-'U too gener.dtv negleo'ed. and many breeders have been led to bflwvv that the tendency to Uytm fat is directly antagonistic to the secretion of milk ; and that there is an ir»c»mpitability in the ae:ive exercis.? »f the*e two functions. This extreme view of the relations of the two function* u bas t :d| ■ upon curtain wcli-ascertaiu--d f ic;s th;it d> ' not, however, represent tue wu.-ie tr.it n. if the attention of tlie brnMW i* directed exclusively to the development »t either; of tbwe function. I *, the etf'Ct wili i.c to dinißub the activity of the other : and i; is ■»!<" well known that the peculiarities of I form that indicate tlie beat feeding quality I an* not the not as these obtained when the production of milk is the leading or tola object, the natural correlations of

form and function in the two cases being quite different. These facts do not, however, warrant the assumption that the two qualities, in a high degree of excellence, cannot be combined in the same animal. The possibility of such a combination of characters has been abundantly demonstrated by experience. Quite a number of animals, representing several different breeds and their grades, have come under my observation, in which good feeding qualities were associated with more than average excellence for the purposes of the dairy, and there are many similar instances on record.