A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE APPLICATIONS OF THE LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT AND HEREDITY TO THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS. BY MANLY MILES, M. D., LATE PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURE IN THE MICHIGAN STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. NEW YORK : D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 1879. PREFACE. Ir is somewhat remarkable, in this book-making age, that there is no systematic work accessible to the student in which the known facts and principles of the art of improving and breeding domestic animals are presented, in convenient form, for study and reference, notwithstanding the importance of live-stock to the farmer, and the wonderful progress that has been made in its improvement since the time of Bakewell. The present attempt to supply this want has been made in response to the repeated solicitations of persons interested in stock-breeding, who have attended my lectures on this subject, in various places, for several years past. In a popular exposition of the principles of an art that is almost exclusively based upon the experience of practical men there is little opportunity for originality, aside from the classification and arrangement of facts, and the inferences, in some instances, that 271727 may be drawn from them in explaining the practice of the most successful breeders. It is believed that a systematic statement of what is already known in the practice of the art is of greater importance, at the present time, than any new truths, as it must furnish the only consistent foundation for future progress and improvement. The numerous cases that have been collected to illustrate the various topics under discussion have been compiled, as far as possible, from original sources and presented in their original form-references, in nearly all cases, being given to the works from which they are quoted. This feature of the work will be of interest to the student who wishes to study the subject in greater detail, as it will, to some extent, serve as an index to authorities that may be profitably consulted. In the limits of a popular work it is of course impossible to treat each topic exhaustively, and the attempt has been made to present only such an outline of the principles of the art as would be required in a text-book for students, or a work of reference for farmers. The acknowledgments of the author are due to the well-known animal-artist John R. Page, of Sennett, New York, for the spirited illustrations in the chapter on "Form," all of which are from life, with the exception of Fig. 8, which is after a sketch by the Hon. Francis Rotch. It is to be hoped that the résumé of cases here presented may lead breeders to recognize the importance of placing on record the additional facts, from their own experience, that are required for a more complete discussion of the subjects treated in this volume. LANSING, MICHIGAN, July 20, 1878. |