Breeding from Half-breds.

Otago Witness, Issue 1793, 3 April 1886, Page 13

Breeding from Half-breds.

Editor Witness, — In reply to the letter in your last iabiie signed "Fanner," I may mention that in my paper bearing on this subject I did not advocate tho breeding with half-breds for producing superior sheep to the ordinary crosses, but rather as a means of preventing the present drawbacks of having different varieties of wool and generally of a lot of toothless merino ewes, Ibe keeping of which is unfortunately only too common throughout the Colony. Breeding with half-breds on both sides is only of recent date, and is yet but limitod in extent. So far, however, as it has gone I believe the shee p will prove quite as profitable aa crosses that have sprung from pure stock. At preseut the great difficulty is to procure vSufficieut woll-bred stock of this cla=s to breed with. If rams could be got from highly-bred stud merinos and stud longwools and placed to ewes of a similar strain of blood, I am confident a class of sheep could be perpotuated which the intelligent breeder would have no greater difficulty in keeping to the type held in viewthaa what he would find in working with au ordinary flock.

The reference made by " Farmer " to the interbreediuß of different sections of the human family as bearing on this subject, and the tendency of the mulattoes of the West India islands to revert to the negro type, is not, I believe with the (exception peihapsof isolated cases), an assured fact, but mm-ely a supposition. To prove I have good grounds for this belief, and ais.o to show the differences of opinion regarding the matter, I will mention that at present there are two i-iv.il schools of othr.ology in existence, culled after their respective founders, Dr Pritehard and Dr Morton. The writers of the Pritehard school maintain tho unity of tho human race as having sprung from one common origin, and that tho union of twe families, such as the European and negro, is capable of perpetuating a race of hall-b'reds. In support o{

this view they instance these same mixed races of the West India islands already referred to, and whom they assert aro a rapidly increasing people. On the other hand, the writers of the Morton school declare that the different races of mankind have had a separate origin, and that fche union of two of these cannot continue for many years without becoming unfruitful or reverting back to the white or black parent again. " Chambers' Encyclopedia," in giving a review of the teachings of these two schools of ethnology as applied to mixed races, sums up as follows : — " As it is, the weight of evidence appears to be in favour of Dr Pritchard's view ; but until the doctrine of hybridity is better understood, and a more satisfactory answer to the vexed question of what is species has been supplied to us, we must deem it idle to pronounce dogmatically on the subject." — Yours, &c, J. A. Anderson.

Waiwera, March 30.