It’s a well-known fact that, in crossing, the produce most frequently takes after the male parent, especially, it is thought, in exterior form, in its organs of locomotion, such as the bones, the muscles, &c. Particularly is this the case when the male belongs to an old and well-established breed, and the female belongs to no known breed, and has no strongly-marked and fixed points. Put a Galloway bull, for instance, to a native cow, and the calf will, as a general rule, be hornless. Put a ram without horns to ewes with horns, and most of the lambs will be destitute of horns; that is, they take the characteristics of the father rather than the dam; and this rule holds good generally in breeding, though, like all other rules, it has, of course, its exceptions. Hence, if this position be correct, the first principle which the good sense of the farmer would dictate would be to select a bull from a breed most noted for the qualities he wishes to obtain in their greatest perfection, and especially if the cow is deficient in those qualities. A bull, for instance, of fine bone, and other good points in perfection, will make up for the deficiency of some of these points in the cow. On the other hand, say the advocates of this doctrine, in the physiology of breeding the internal structure of the offspring, the organs of secretion, the mucous membranes, the respiratory organs, &c., are imparted chiefly by the dam. Hence it has sometimes been found that by taking a cow remarkable for milking properties, though deficient in many other points, as in the coarseness of bone and in early maturity, and putting to her a bull remarkable for symmetry of form and fineness of bone, the offspring has been superior to the cow in beauty of form and proportions, and has still retained the milking qualities of the dam. This principle, as already intimated, is questioned by some, who say that the milking qualities, as well as the external form, &c., are transmitted through the male offspring. Mr. James Dickson, an experienced breeder and drover, who views the subject from his own standpoint, says: “A great part of the art of breeding lies in the principle of _judicious crossing_; for it is only by attending properly to this that success is to be attained, and animals produced that shall yield the greatest amount of profit for the food they consume. All eminent breeders know full well that ill-bred animals are unprofitable both to the breeder and feeder. To carry out the system of crossing judiciously, certain breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs, &c., must be kept pure of their kind--males especially; indeed, as a general rule, no animal possessing spurious blood, or admixture with other breeds, should be used. The produce in almost all cases assimilates to the male parent; and I should say that in crossing the use of any males not pure-bred is _injudicious_, and ought to be avoided.”