ry close observer. But
I doubt very much that any particular organ of the offspring is, as a
rule, more liable to the influence of the sire than of the dam, or _vice
versa_; and the breeder who believes that the sire alone is concerned in
moulding the external form of the offspring, and who consequently pays
no attention to this point in the dam, will often find himself out in
his reckonings. In order to be certain of a satisfactory result, the dam
should in every respect be equal to the sire. In practice, however, this
is not always the case, for as sires are so few as compared with the
number of dams, the greatest efforts have been directed towards the
improvement of the former.

There is, or ought to be, a familiar maxim with breeders, that "like
begets like, or the likeness of an ancestor." This is a "wise saw," of
which there are many "modern instances:" the excellencies or defects of
sire or dam are certain to be transmitted through several generations,
though they may not appear in all. As a general rule, good animals will
produce a good, and defective animals a defective, offspring, but it
sometimes happens that a bull or cow, of the best blood, is decidedly
inferior, whilst really good animals are occasionally the produce of
parents of "low degree." If the defects or excellencies of animals were
ineradicable there would be no need for the science of breeding; but by
the continual selection of only the most superior animals for breeding
purposes the defects of a species gradually disappear, and the good
qualities are alone transmitted. As, however, animals that are used as
food for man are to some extent in an abnormal condition, the points
which may be excellencies in that state, would not have been such in the
original condition of the animal. We find, therefore, that the improved
breeds of oxen and sheep exhibit some tendency to revert to their
original condition, and it is only by close attention to the diet,
breeding, and general management of these animals that this tendency can
be successfully resisted. Sometimes, however, an animal of even the best
breed will "return to nature," or will acquire some undesirable quality;
such an animal should be rejected for breeding purposes, for its defects
would in all probability be transmitted to its descendants, near or
remote. A case, which admirably illustrates this point, is recorded in
the _Philosophical Transactions_ for 1813, and it is sufficiently
interesting