IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) I 1.0 I.I Ki 112.2 2,0 L8 1.25 1.4 1.6 M 6" ► ^^ ^ /2 /a V. /a /A Photographic Sciences Corporation •3 WMT MAIN STRUT WHSTIR NY I4SM (716) 873-4503 o ^ .^.% I k' i. !S Ua ^ . CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductiuns / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Teohnicef^v,*''*^ ^•^-#'^>''^ J^^ I. . % Ql I r ,, r t i SKR1E8 OF QUESTIONS ON BREEDING AND THE HEREDITARY DISEASES OF ioK8i§ km cif ni, 4. BY W. H. CARPENTER, ,. VETERINARY SURGEON. ' <'<»'>^< QUEBEC: PETER SINCLAIR, BOOKSELLER. St. John 8tropt. 1650. 8? ST. MICHEL & DARVEAU, JOB PRINTERS, No. 3, Mountain Street. i iMTt()T)i;(rriox I =«■ If the animals domesticated bv man be essen- lially necessary to his comfort and convenience, no apology need be oifered for attempting to re- duce into a system the arts of preserving them in health, and of removing their diseases; both of which must be founded on an intimate acquaint- ance with the structure, functions, and economy of the bodies of these animals: and which acquire- ments, therefore, form the ground-work. The position which any nation occupies in the scale of ci/ilisation is exactly determinable by the indus- try of its people — the constitution of the human mind — the constitution of the human body — is of that character to render activity necessary for health, and to make repose destructive to every energy. The mutual dependence of mind and body renders it essential that an equal burthen should be thrown upon each. There is a beauti- ful balance between the intellectual and physical forces, which, if disturbed, leads to irregularities which are diseases. The mind we call immate- rial. The body is essentially material ; yet this material mass is quickened into motion by the influences of certain physical forces which hold a position — not well defined — between gross mat- tors and the " spark of life." Light, heat, elec- ( IV. ) ;■»; tricity, luid otlit.a' t'oivcs wiiich the «;}o ot llio philosopher aao^, but which ho has not yet gras[)- od, are iiecossary agents to the existence of the organized mass. we call man, but they are not tlie cause of that existence, an unknown energy, far beyond the reacli of the most giant mind, which we call life, is hidden behind tlio veil, and the physical agencies, like the liglitnings around the sacred mount, hide the divinity wdiich crowMis it. Yet are this gross organic mass, these pliysical forces, and the ethereal life bound to- gether in a wonderful system to maintain tlie health of life, even in its highest developments of intellect, a change of form in some portion of the material constitution is necessary. The exer- cise of the mind in the development of a single thought compels a portion of human muscle to change its form — in common language to bo de- stroyed; it is in fact resolved from its compound condition into its more simple elements. Every thought, therefore, according to its energy — its intensity is dependant upon a chemical change. Thus a mind of excessive energy, with an inten- sification of power, wears out the body faster than the material elements can l)e supplied. On the other hand, if the material elements re- quired to restore the w^aste in our bodies be sup- plied in too great abundance, the machinery is clogged, the mind becomes inactive, the power of appropriation and assimilation is reduced, and man becomes a sensual creation merely. Bodily oftbrts, the exertion of muscular force, the, dove- mat of { ) rjyc (^t tlio yet gras[)- ice of tlie .ro not tlic 11 energy, mt mind, ) veil, and gs around cli crowns ass, these bound to- ntain tlio elopnients portion of The exer- f a sinsrlo muscle to to be de- ompound Every s. loro' gy- its I change. an inten- ister than ments re- is be snp- hinery is power of ced, and Bodilv (he deve- lopment of mechanical power, calling upon the system for an active restoration of the employed material, leaves but little for the mind to work upon, and consequently intellectual power and great bodily exertion are not compatible. Nature performs all her works by a system of constants. The change of a constant quantity of matter is required to produce the development of a constant quantity of the spiritual energy. The development of an equivalent of mind requires the consumption of an equivalent of the material elements by which it is enchained. * * Civiliza- tion consists in producing the highest amount of vitality, the largest quantity of producing power and the most perfect development of mind a people — the most industrious will necessarily be the most virtuous and intellectual — it may be said that our over-laboured population do not answer to those conditions. Unfortunately it is too true they do not, and it is because they are over- laboured a great law is broken, and a great curse follows. Every sin carries its own punishment. In a given time an over- wrought population produces less than the same number of men and women who have laboured fairly ; the condition of the first is wreck of mind and of body ; that of the second is the maintenance of health and ca- pabilities for progress. Industry, therefore, is giving mind and body an equal and a fair amount of labour, and civilisation depends upon the proper fulfilment of the conditions of human ex- istence. Man was placed on this planet with i I it , I I i: ( vr.. ) powers to " replenish the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living; thing that moveth upon the earth." In chemical constitution the vegetable and the animal tribes differ but little from man ; the vegetable has life, and is by its influence developed ; the animal has life of a higher order, and under its exciting power pursues a more enlarged round of existence. Man however, has more than this ; and in the dignified possession of a soul, a world embracing, a world searching intelligence, he is enabled to exert hia dominion over all things. A beast may possess a remarkable power of instinct; we see the bird construct a wonderful nest; and the beaver build a remarkable cell, but these powers over nature are limited ; neither the bird nor the beav.er ever constructed a tool. Man, on the contrary, is enabled to avail himself, not merely of the raw material which nature gives him, but observing the laws upon which nature herself works, detecting the mechanical powers by which the universe is regulated, and the phy- sical powers unceasingly at work in creation. He compels them, as slaves, to do his bidding. Man manufactures lever and wedges, he makes ma- chines, which no other animal ever did. Man's supremacy entirely depends upon his so nicely adjusting the powers of mind and body, that he can make them equally available to the ends he aims at. The mental powers are exerted to dis- cover the constitution of tlio earth, the creations ■ on all out con scie trai ing one tru subdue it, le sea, and ery livinp^ 1 chemical nal tribes le has life, -nimal has iug power ace. Man 5 dignified ?, a world exert his ( vn. ) on it3 surface, and the physical forces by which, all these are regulated. This is science. With- out science there can be no advance. Truths bo- come known to us only tlirough the researches of K(Mence ; therefore, the imperative necessity of so training the mind that it can search, and by seek- ing, find, whatever may be the form of science, its ends are no more than this. Having discovered truth, we seek to apply it, and every advance of any human industry is but an application of a known truth. power of tvonderful B cell, but either the 3ol. Man, iself, not are gives h nature 1 powers the phy- tion. He ig. Man ikes ma- . Man's so nicely that he 3 ends he id to dis- ereations Tl n^ 'U A SEKIES OF QUESTIONS ON BREEDING. I The readers of this will remember that tlic questions proposed on the above subject arc principally of a physiological character, and many ot them were of sucli a nature that few persons perhaps were in a position to answer; while books on physiology, both human and compai*ative, are , silent on the subject; hence wo are desirous of putting on record the opinions we have already received. The profession will have observed that we did not ask how horses wo^'e bred, or the rules which breeders follow to secure the best stock, these being matters of detail only to be learned by experience ; but we wished to know whether science could not assist the practical. breeder, and thus bring physiological laws to bear on the ques- tion of propagating the species, m a manner thixv has not hitherto been etfected. \\"e roii'ret to snv that the information furnisluid us has not been so full as we could liave wished; but if we should hereafter learn that our questions have rauscd tlic junior i.ioml)ers of our profession to work in tlu? sense we speak of, we shall have less i-eason to _ 10 — •I rogrot our n<>( being tible at present lo give all the asHislanee we are desirous of doing to breeders, ilis Royal lligliness Prince Albert, in his reeent speech at Birmingham, has so well put these, our opinions, before the public, that w^e shall be ex- cused if we bring his observations before the pro- fession, they being applicable to the subject of breedinc:. The Prince savs : — "The introduction of science and art, as the regulators of productive industry, is destined to play a great and important part in the future develo})ment of this nation, and of the world in general." Science is eminently practical, and must be so, as she sees and knows what she is doing; while mei'e common practice is condemned to in the dark, applying natural in- genuity to unknown powers to obtain a known result. Far be it from me to undervalue the cre- ative power of genius, or to treat shrewd com- mon sense as worthless without knowledge. But nobodv will tv'll me that the same genius would not take an iuconijtarably higher tlight if supplied witli all th(^ menns which knowledge can impart i or that common sense docs not become, in fact, oidy truly powerful ^\■hen in possession of the nuiterials upon which judgmcMit is to be exercised. '•In all our opcM'atinns, whether agricultural or manufacturing, it is not we who operate, but the laws of nature, which we have set in operation, it is, then, of the highest importance that we K}u)uld know these laws, iu order to know what wo. iu\' about, and the reason why certain thintrs are whii'li occur dailv uuiltM-<»ui" bands, atid f I 11 ^•'ive all the > breeders. his recent these, our hall be ex- re the pro- eubject of troduction productive important uition, and eminently md knows II practice natural in- 11 a known -le the cro- wd com- . But IS would ' supplied n impart; e, in lad, on of tlie 'xercised. ultural or but the ])oration, (hat we to know V certain luds, and > what course we are to pursue with regard to them. Without such kuowledur correspon- dents arr soTnowliat inexplicit as tn the earliest ju ri^'xls at whi* li f<»alf^ may Ik got; iiioi litth. i^ 13 — ING. t, from the 1 is used for is question irnished us es will pro- ~>eaks of a years old. n be found life as Mr. [1, on relia- at even a well recol- been em- ars of age, covered a ], he got a was gene- had that c had, had f'orrespon- w earlioFt in; littlo i^ Raid by them relating to entire horses being put to marcs at a very early age, although it is stated that this occurs as early as 2 years old. Mr. F. Chamberlain saj's, that early sexual intercourse in excess does occasionally produce impotency. . Mr. J. S. Merrick believes that it tends to that , effect only when carried to excess at an early age_ Mr. AV. T. Staidey remarks that excess of sexual intercourse at an early age temporarily debilitates the animal, and that in the following season he will have rec^ained his viizrour. Mr. Barker ob- serves that 2 year old horses are allowed but few mares during the first season ; hence the few cases of impotency arising from early excessive sexual intercourse among them. In bulls, how- ever, it is by no means uncommon for both vigor and development to be arrested, from early and too frecpient access to cows. Nearly all our cor- respondents agree that seminal emissions do take place in the entire horse ; and that they are not involuntary, but depend generally u})on excite- ment, and especially from the presence of mares. It must also be allowed that if this act does tak<' place to excess, debility follows, but although Buch is the case, and in hot climates in particular, it is not so in this country to any injurious extent, BO far as my experience goes. Kevertheless, breeders should make it a rule to keep male ani- mals that are intended to be used for the pur[)oHo of gettitig stock as much by themselves as posHi- ble, so as to ensure their full vigour when needed. On the question of the influence of fat and exer- M:. — 14 — cise inducing impotency, we think our correspon- dents do not lay sufficient stress. It would appear from them, that thoroughbred horses get only from two to three hours' exercise in the day; and some are only allowed to pace their own loose boxes. Is this exercise enough, we should ask ? Is not the state of the cart stalHon better, who travels his sixty miles in the week ? But is the excessive quantity of fat usually seen on cart stal- lions desirable ? Is it necessary or is it merely for show ? May it not be the cause of so many cart mares not being stinted ? Cannot statistics be obtained showing that an animal taken from regular, but not too hard labour, and in good working condition, is the most likely to procreate the best foals, and perhaps the greatest number also ? These are questions we submit to our read- era' consideration. Our correspondents all agree that the number of mares put to horses during the season, averages from forty to seventy ; and that from an hour and a half to two hours is the usual time between the acts of copulation. I would add that, on some occasions, I have known as many as three or four mares covered in as many hours. Is this in accordance with physio- logical laws ? May not the large number of weak, leggy, bad constitutioned animals, "weeds," de- pend upon inattention to some of these causes ? And would not a knowledge of this save a man, who puts a valuable mare to a very superior stal- lion, much chagrin when ho tinds the produce comparatively good for nothing ? This part of i 15 — correspou- )u]d appear )s get only e day; and own loose lould ask? etter, who But is the n cart stal- s it merely )f so many t statistics aken from nd in good 3 procreate st number io our read- ts all agree 5es during ^enty ; and burs is the Illation. I live known ered in as bh physio- r of weak, eeds," de- pe causes? ivc a man, )erior stal- le produce lis part of our subject is well worth further investigation ; and I should be glad of the opinion of practical men on this point. Another matter having refer- ence to the entire horse, on which our correspon- dents likewise agree, is that the quantity of mares put to a horse in one season is very large ; and that the power of the horse for such large num- bers is obtained by giving stimulating food, this may be very well for the owner of the horse, but is it a system to be tolerated by the practical breeder? Ought he not to take steps to ascertain how many mares have been covered by the horse he employs? Surely it must be a short-sighted view of the matter to prefer a "cheap mount." Yet I believe many would say that if low fees are taken the numbers must make up for the low prices paid. Mr. Gibbon says that it is considered desirable to allow only two hours between the first and second act of copulation ; but a longer time must elapse between the second and third act, and that horses are very rarely allowed tu aerve more than three mares in the day, if it is wished to ensure good stock. It would l3e well if this course were universally adopted. It appears from the answers we have received, that the profession generally has but little know- ledge on the subject of impotency in stallions- Statistics bearing on this subject, if there are any» would be gladly received by us. Our correspon- dents give us very little information as to the cause of sterility in mares. From the observation of Mr. Chamberlain, we infer that he inclines to f> t' — 16 — the opinion that an accnmulation of fat in the system is unfavorable to their being impregnated, for he says ; "the most likely means to ensure the mares being stinted are attention to the con- dition of the animal, placing her as much as pos- sible in a state of nature, and the removal of all stimulating food."' On the same subject Mr. Stanley says; "change of diet, and cooling medi- cine given previous to the aninuil being stinted are beneticial." The observations of these gen- tlemen agree with my opinion, namely, that fat in excess induces sterility in mares; indeed, I be- lieve it to be a very frequent cause of barrenness, still I should be fflad to be furnished with some practical information on this subject, and also at what period during the time the mare is at oes- trum ought she to have sexual intercourse to en- sure her being impregnated ? AVould it be better to pat her to the horse as soon as it is discovered that she has a desire for him, or just as it is pass- ing off, or during the middle of that period? Or are there any particular engns familiar to breeders which point out the proper time for coition, so as to ensure the mare being stinted? In answer to the tenth question, Mr. Chamberlain says : " I be- lieve it is a common law in nature of unlike breeds to be more productive, it is so with the common bred bull as compared with the high bred animal, besides which such a bull is in a much more natural condition fbr coition, from bin nf>t having been exposed to the same artificial mode of living, &c." Manv instances are men- preve witli Bays, horse draw 3ut Ktev( barrc bette done Gibb guid not \ fat in tlic n'cgnatod, to eusuro .0 the con- ch as pos- oval of all hjoct Mr. ins^ medi- \g stinted these gen- y, that fat deed, I be- ar re nn ess, ^ith some md also at e is at oos- iirse to en- t be better [liscovered it is pass- riod ? Or 0 breeders tion, so as answer to ^s: 'vTbe- of unlike with the 1 the high nil is in a I, from hin I artificial are men- 1 — 17 — tioned where some ^r aliarity has been trans- mitted to the better bred descendants. I have no doubt but this will occasionally be seen, but it is less likely than it was some time back, as the common bull is now better bred than he formerly was. This peculiarity appears rather common in the dog. In answer to the same question Mr. Merrick says it is a fact that high bred cows will fre(pientl3^ conceive to a low bred bull, after hav- ing failed to one of pure breed. The experience of liis own groom, who has had the management of stallions for fourteen years, is "that he has fro(]uently noticed that well-bred mares, which have been diiticult to stint with thoroughbred horses, have bred to an inferior, and subsequently to a thoroughbred stallion; but her stock by the hitter lias frequently showed traces of inferior blood, not to have been expected from the breed of either the sire or dam." On the subject of preventing barrenness in nuires, wo are furnished with but few. new facts, except that Mr. Barker eays, if the mare bo put to another description of horse, that it is a practice with some persons to draw blood from her during the act of copulation, 3ut this we believe to be an old practice. Mr, Stevens states that there would be fewer cases of barrenness in mares if they were better fed, and better care were taken of them than is generally done. In answer to our twentieth question, Mr. Gibbon replies that there is no certain rule to guide us as to whether the mare is pregnant or not until she is half, or a little more advanced 'm :\i flf — 18 — pregnancy, at which time he refers as a test to the usual mode of i^rivinsc the iiiare a bucketful of cold water, a few minutes after which the foal may be either seen to struggle, or be telt by placing the hand on the inferior part of the abdomen, a little anterior to the mamnuirv o-laud. Mr. Chamber- t^ CD lain says, the early symptonis appear to be, cessa- tion of desire for the male, a less irritable state of the system, and a disposition to come fat. The observations of ^lessrs. Stanley and Merrick are to the same elfect, the foal. Mr. Barker, in an- swer to question live, states that the offspring in- herits the good or bad qualities of the sire, in preference to the dam. And in answer to ques- tion six, he remarks, "that aged sires get more fillies than colts." Mr. Chamberlain thinks that constitutional de- fects are more frequently transmitted from the dam. And in answer to question seven he says, th^re is a preponderance of females in all do- mesticated animals ; but mares of the cart breed produce more colts than fillies, such, however, he thinks is not the case with thoroughbred stock, which may probably be explained by the *' in- and-in system of breeding," or rather a want of crossing with animals of dissimilar character. Other correspondents are of opinion that the dam is frequentlly at fault. I am surprised, however, not to find the attention of breeders directed to these pecuharities, for we believe that according to the age of the parents so will be the vigor and also the sex of the progeny. In speaking of this 19 — test to the t'ul of cold al may be aciiie: the eii, a little Chamber- be, cessa- )le state of fat. The errick are ^er, in an- spring in- e sire, in r to ques- get more itional de- from the n he says, n all do- !art breed )wever, he •ed stock, ' the " in- n want of character, t the dam however, irected to according vigor and 3g of this I would ask if "weeds" arc not produced from some of the above causes ? Wq have lately heard it stated that niauy of the Irish, and also persons of weak intellect, in public asylums, are the produce of those who have married first cousins. With reference to the influence that either the sire or dam may have upon the offspring, Mr. Stanley in reply to the fifth question, states, " the future progeny is liable to be influenced by im- perfections both in breed and constitutions, and these are mostly propagated by the sire. My in- ferenc^c is mostly derived from what I have fre- quently seen in my own establishment — having had several stallions which were kept purposely for breeding, and amongst them was ' Cricketer,' who, with few exceptions, was considered one of the soundest horses in existence. The only dis- ease he had was a constitutional defect in one of his eves. This afl'ection w^as confined at first, and that for a long time, to the lachrymal apparatus, principally causing a continual flow of tears over the side of the face. The horse was in my pos- session three or four years, and the eye did be- come worse, but later in life he became blind. His stock were animals of first rate quality and power; and the only malady they were subject to was ophthalmia. Tins aflection, however, was not of very frequent occurrence. I wish also to mention that I know a thoroughbred horse called '*York." He was lame from bone spavius and nearly all his stock were aftected in the same way, and became iucurably lame ; in fact some were — 20 f tbaled lame, or bocamo so before they obtained the age of one year." I have already alluded to the aiibjeet of " weeds." I shall close this sum- mary with a few additional remarks upon them by Messrs. Stevens, Gibbon and Stanley ; Mr. Stevens thinks, that want of proper feeding of the mare is in a great measure the cause of the above description of horse. lie also says that cart stal- lions have often far too many mares put to them, and that at the end of the season they evince very little desire for copulation. I have often heard of its being necessary to give them very stimulating food, and use means to excite them befoii^ the act. Therefore, want of energy in the horse may l)e one of the causes to produce ''weeds." Mr. Gibbon savs, "animals called weed-^, generally inherit theti* peculiarity of con- stitution from their parents, but if a foal or year- ling is kept with an insufficient supply of food, cither in quantity or quality, it will become a weed. I also think they are sometimes produced from sound stock, when the generative organs of the dam, having been in a state of inactivity until advanced in life, do not possess sufficient nervous Influence to supply the embryo with nutrition." Mr. Stanley says, "animals termed weeds are solely referable to the bad and injudicious cross- ing of sires and dams, and not from the quality or quantity of the food or the colt, which has lit- tle to do with it." i obtained lluded to his sum- on them ley ; Mr. Mg of the he above cart stal- to them, y evince ive often em very ite them gy in the produce Is called ' of Con- or year- of food, )ecome a produced ►rgans of ^ity until nervous trition." seds are s cross- ! quality has lit- On the Hereditary Diseases of Horses and Cattle, &c. Althoutch certain determinate characters and forma, perpetuated by generation, distingiish the several races or breeds of horses and cattle in this and other countries, yet these distinctive marks arc not so arbitrarily fixed, but that indi- viduals, in any one of those breeds, may and do dilfer among themselves, in constitution and tem- perament, as they are severally atfected by varie- ties of organization, disposing them to different diseases, these predispositions, no less than tlie varieties of size, form, colour, and other obvious properties, arc hereditary and transmissible to ottspring; and though the direct proof may nut be equal for the two cases, and the effects result- ing are of such different importance; yet is it certain that the peculiarities so carried on, from one generation to another, liave reference to one conmion law. AV'ithout entering minutely into the considera- tion of the cause of such deviations from the pri- mitive or common type of the species, we may remark that certain external circumstanc<:'s, as food, climate, and domesticity, appear to have had considerable power in modifying animal or- ganization. Possibly the most important influ- ence in this respect is due to the artinciai mode (»r lite which some animals lead under the control of man, bv which modifications are induced to a 90 — j^^ —m i certain extent, and are transmissible to offspring, it is to this influence that we may probably attri- bute the occasional production of accidental va- rieties— many instances of whicli may be cited as examples of this singular phenomenon in the re- production of the species. Thus the polled breeds of cattle sprang from an individual variety, which was preserved by tb.e Scotch farmers, on the sup- position that such formed animals would become more quiet and less apt to gore one another than the native races. The 'Ancon,' or 'Otter' breed of sheep, now established in America, is another striking instance of departure from a common type, a variety that was preserved in consequence of their short otter-like limbs, which prevented tlieni from leaping fences. We have also another singular example in those races of dogs that have a supernumerary toe on the hind feet, with the corresponding tarsal bones — a variety analogous to the one jtresented by six toed or six fingered tumilies of tlie human race. Other cases could be adduced. We cannot, however, term such singular varieties as accidental, since there is no- thing in the ])henomena of nature to which the term accident can well be applied. The charac- ters are doubtless the result of some organic change pi-opcr to the animals in which they ap- I>eared; and iheir transmission to their progeny U only the exeiiipliHcation of a law common to other cases of transmitted characters. It is generally allowed that congenital varieties of this character tend to become hereditary, but change thus t ©gpecia tilatioi price. animal obvioi wroug ing a^ croppe born r tliia ki quired diseas rent t« rent, ] the ex «trong unhea exam] of mj to the ly ob^ dome taken posed them lions cienc ment and ^ ■or cc 23 — offspring, ably attri- iental va- )e cited as in the rc- led breeds ety, which n the sup- Id become )ther than ;ter' breed is another common isequencc prevented o another tliat have with the iinalogoua fingered ses couhl 3rm such ere is no- kvhich the le cliarae- 3 organic they ap- progeny mmon to varieties tary, but changes wrought in an animal after birth arc not thus transmitted to offspring. This assertion is especially true in respect of deformities and mu- tilations, the result of accident or of man's ca- price. Changes cf this kind occurring during the animal's life commonly end with it, and have no obvious influence on its progeny. Had nature wrought otherwise, the mischances of all preceed- ing ages would have been entailed on us ; and cropped dogs and dock-tailed horses would be born ready to our use, but although deformities of tJiia kind are not hereditary, there are certain ac- quired conditions of the body, the consequence of disease, which are frecpiently conveyed from pa- rent to offspring. The state of health of either pa- rent, particularly of the mother, at the time when the existence of the offspring commences, has a «trong influence in the production of healthy or unhealthy progeny. I shall adduce a great many examples in support of this |»(>Hitioii in the course of my essay. The applicability of these remarks to the question of hereditary disease is suflicient- ly obvious. If new characters are produced in domesticated animals, because they have been taken from their primitive conditions, and ex- posed to the operation of influences unnjitural to them, we can have no reason to doubt that devia- tions of structure, whether in the way of defl- tiency or of excess, or any other new develop- ment, are occasionally produced and transmitted; and with these deviations, certain propensities to, or conditions of morbid action in the parts thus I 24 — abnormally orj^atiizod, generally the offspring U horn free from disease, consequently it is not dis- ease itself wliich is transmitted, but organs or. textures of such imperfect kind, that they arv. liable to be morbidly affected hy causes which would produce no effect on limbs or texturea soundly or normally developed. Mr. G. Barker, V. S., Reiyate, relates the case of a mare that was farcied, and, the owner breed- ing from her, the foal showed symi>toms of farcy soon after birth, and died glandered. Veterina- rian, vol. 13. I have heard of a similar instance, where the farcied mare was bred from and the mare sur- vived, but the foal exhibited symptoms of farcy and died. These cases are congenital, but diseases in which the fetus participated with the mother, owing to their contaminating influence, or their extension throughout her organization, are not, properly speaking, hereditary. The following; case is more to the purpose, related by an old friend of mine, who lived within eight miles of me, in Devonshire, the late Mr. Kobert Heed, (-rediton, V. S. — "I have seen," he says, *'a foal born blind, having a lenticular cataract in each eye, from tlu^ dan» having been put to a stallion with a cataract in each eve, the re- Bult of a constitutional inflammation." Ko- garding the subject of hereditary diseases in a general way, we shall have to consider: — first- those which are induced by peculiarity of confor- mation, both in the external and internal parts o^ the bo( which posed In t we sh |)Ossib conne; fluid and cl in son quiry. of the cnlart either of th( the ti as ca injuri by re partii eitua It] of so to sp posit tion are i from this depc hors : 1 25 )ff8pring irt is not (lis- organs or. I; tliey arr, ises which textures )s the case ner breed- is of fiircy Veterina- where the mare sur- 18 of farcv ut diseases he mother, 3e, or their )n, are not, foUowinfj by an old it miles of bert Keed, (( . a says, -r cataract •een put to c, the re >u/' Kf. 9a8ea in a ler: — first- of confor- al parts o^ the body. Second, those in the transmission of which the condition of the blood may be sup- posed to be partly or wholly concerned. In treating the subject under these two heads, we shall follow the classification as closely as possible, but, on account of the close and intimate connexion existing between the solids and the fluid portions of the body, in growth, function, and change, there will be a difficulty experienced in some instances, in separating them in the in- quiry. My first example will affiDrd an instance of the kind. First, (a.) Spavin and other ossific enlargements, the predisposition to which may be either constitutional or local. They are composed of the earthly matters of bone, chiefly invading the tissues low in the scale of organization, such as cartilage and fibro-cartilaginous substances ; injuring the structure and functions of the parts, by rendering them rigid and inelastic, and causing partial or complete lameness, depending on the situation and the extent of the deposition. It is perfectly well ascertained that the progeny of some horses inherit a constitutional tendency :to splints, spavins, ring bone, and other bony de- posits, without exhibiting any peculiar conforma- tion of limbs or joints to account for it. These are instances of an ossific diathesis, transmitted from parent to oftspring, but, on the other hand, this hereditary predisposition more commonly depends on i'aulty or peculiar conformation. Thus horses most disposed to spavins are those possess- — 26 — ing short pointed hocks, deficient in width and breadth below, and disproportionately small, compared with the upper portion of the joint. Those most disposed to ring bone are horses with upright pasterns and high action ; and those most liable to ossified cartilages are the heavy draught breeds ; so much so that it is not an uncommon case to find the cartilages of the feet of horses of this character chansfed into bone at four and five years old. The reason of this is evident enough : concussion is easily produced in the joints of the characters of horses described; inflammation of a slow chronic kind folh)ws as a natural conse- quence, and osseous effusion is the result. There is no difficulty in establishing the hereditary cha- racter of those diseases. Taking spavin as an example, 1 have numerous and unquestionable cases to produce. Some ten or a dozen years since, a spavined thoroughbred stallion, Logic, served mares in the neighborhood of Exeter, and in a few years afterwards it was really astonisbing to see tlie number of his stock that were similar- ly diseased. One striking circumstance connect- ed with this horse is niucl' to the purpose. A half-bred mare, one of his stock, exhibited spa- vins at four years old, and becoming unfit for fast work, was kept for breeding purposes and occa- sional work on the farm. Two of this mare's stock also exhibited spavins in a short time after the breaking. There is a curious case recorded in the Veterinarian, by Mr. Pereivall, of a tho- roughbred horse called "Dominie Sampson," that — 27 mdth and y small, the joint. orses with lose most y draught ncommon ' horses of ir and five t enough : nts of the fixation of •al conse- t. There litary cha- vin as an estionable zen years n, Logic, 3 |s pro- jr; in bhy of jr con- Is clear iracter ire nu- in this g- bers of eferrcd tion of iiorses, osition ; e of an Is at that irtion. diseased ire, and ase per- an here- d fane- iOrsds of i also to : is irre- exercise trary, it ble, and work or )roperIy )ndition 18 of the lungs are fulfilled in the latter instance, and not ill the former. One of the chief conditions ne- cessary to this end is exercise. It is this only which will promote perfectly free expansion of the chest, so that the air mav have free and fre- quent access to tlie air-cells; by which not only the muscular functions of the lungs but other parts of the body, are alike preserved in healthy activity. In the absence of this, the textures of the lungs become flaccid and weak, and lose their healthy resiliency and contractile power. Under these conditions, in fact, they become gradually atrophied, which is the essence of the disease known as -'broken wind." The healthy vigour of all the functions of the body is best maintain- ed by their equal and moderate exercise. The muscular function, and with it the circulation of tliC blood, is the first to suffer from the want of it, hence, first sluggish movements and ultimate- Iv weakness of the heart and other muscles — causing deficient and disordered secretions, ge- neral plethora, over nourishment of adipose tex- tures, and wasting of muscles ; and various evil consequences of these morbid conditions may result from these causes, when long in operation — such as biliaiy derangement, indigestion, and flatulency. The emphysematous state of the lungs, usually observed in dissecting broken- winded animals, is undoubtedly induced from disordered secretion, and not by any mechanical rupture of the air-cells, as is commonly imagined. In the view we have taken of this disease, called — o4 — - ''broken wind," the organa of respiration closely resemble the muscles and other organised parts of the body. Tliey were made to be nsed, and it' left in partial inactivity their natural ohxsticity and power, or tone, are unavoidably impaired. But the mischief does not sto[) liero. It is a very common practice with farmers to breed from broken-winded mares, and the jn'ogeny, in a great many instances, inhei'it a tendency to the disease, because their lungs are never normally developed like those of sound, active animals. The fore- going examples are mostly diseases of structure ; we will now consider others where the blood may be considered as taking a part in hereditary transmission. Second (a) Tubercular phthisis, or consump- tion in cattle, will altbrd an interesting case of this sort; and although prcsunuibly a structural disease, yet it is one that is evidently produced from a vitiated state of the blood, arising either froui defective food or from livin<>- in a contain- inated atmos])hei'e. From either of these causes the blood is rendered unfit for adequate nutri- tion, and the lungs become diseased from the de- position of tubercles on its surface in conse- quence. These deposits are much more common- ly produced in cattle than is generally imagined. During the early periods of life the vital principle ot stock of this description is but too frequently taxed by resistance required to be made against cold, wet, and insufficient food, causing mal- orsranic materij not p I cay, b I riodo ^ a repj i this ' whos( maint newa i t^iG 1 quant the li plasti' becon speed able ( i I that t k| certai I and, by an of the causir or, as fed. ing, w not b( negle( the h Clark this ci i pairec tional TAI of the body are m impei 35 ►n close I V 50(1 partvS ed, and if elasticity impaired. t is a very eed from in a great e disease, leveloped "he fore- tructure ; he blood ereditary 3onsiimp- 0* case of structural produced \g either coiitain- se causes te nutri- n the de- ll conse- ioinmon- nagined. principlo equently i against ng mal- body are not persistent, but are more or less prone to de- cay, becoming eftcte or worn out in a limited pe- riod of time. But, in the healthy body, there i^ a reparatory process continually countervailing this decay, by the deposition of new materialw whose vital affinities are energetic, and able to maintain the integrity of the textures. This re- newal depends on the supply of healthy chyle to the living structures, and, it it be defective in quantity or quality, mal-nutrition takes place, and the fibrin of the blood, instead of acting as a plastic material for renewing the worn-out parts, becomes a source of tubercles, and the lungs speedily sutfor, and that oftentimes to a consider- able extent. Breeders of cattle may rest assured that the offspring of a consumptive cow is almost certain to inherit a disposition to the disease, and, when this is the case, it is quickly induced by any cause that may reduce the healthy vigour of the system, such as exposure to cold and wet, causing congestions and chronic inflammations, or, as previously stated, from being insufficiently fed. It is a question, too, well worth consider- ing, whether this tuberculous predisposition may not be frequently induced in embryo, from the neglect of the necessary conditions required for the healthy support of the cow. Sir James Clark, has directed the attention of the public to tliis circumstance. He says " that a state of im- paired health of the mother, whether constitu- tional or acquired, and particularly if caused by imperfect digestion and assimilation, is as pro- 36 ductive of a tendency to scrofula and consump- tion in the cliildrcn as if it had descended by he- reditary transmission." {b) Tlie tu])ereuhir disease in horses is not near 80 common as in cattle. In young horses it is sometimes induced by imperfect and insufficient food, rapid growth, and exposure to the vicissi- tudes of the weather. The mesenteric glands and mucous follicles of the small intestines are most generally affected in these cases — becoming enlarged and filled with purulent and tubercular matters — but in old horses the lungs are the parts chieffy attacked, the symptoms assuming a glan- derous character, such as nasal discharge, short cough, defective appetite, and general loss of condition. The next example is a disease of a scrofulous character, and, like unto the previous one, is evidently produced from a vitiated state of the blood. ((') Scirrhous tumours in cattle. These tu- mours are generally seen in working oxen and bulls, old or full grown. They make their ap- pearance without any apparent pain or constitu- tional disturbance ; at first confined to the thy- roid gUuid^, and finally attack the sub-maxillary and parotid. The disease is known well in the county of Devon, where I liavo resided for tho last thirty-five years, to the farmers in the west ofEnghmd, underthc name of choke-ill, as, in tlie latter stages of the complaint, there is great diffi- culty ot* swallowing experienced, arising from 37 — onsump- id by he- not near )rses it is sufficient e vicissi- c glands tines are becoming ubercular ! the parts ig a glan- 'ge, short ,1 loss of scrofulous 18 one, is ite of the rhese tu- ^xen and their ap- :• constitu- 0 the thy- maxillary 'ell in the 1 for tJio 1 the vvcfcit , as, in tlie ^reat diffi- ing from I % t^ the roots of the tongue and the throat becoming affected. When these symptoms appear, the animal quickly dies. A section of one of these tumours displays several abscesses, containing purulent and sometimes foetid matter, enclosed in fibro-cartilaginous cysts, and which never dis- charge themselves like unto healthy phlegmonous abscesses. My case-book furnishes me with the history of many instances of the disease, proving unquestionably its hereditary character. The last two examples of hereditary disease are of a scro- fulous character, and are recognised as constitu- tional disorders, continued from one generation to another, through the medium of the blood. How- ever difficult it may be to imagine or conceive a fluid like the blood, ever in motion and change, being capable of hereditary taint, yet is it not really more difficult to understand than a cha- racter or peculiarity conveyed by descent to any part of the solids of the body ! Such is Dr. Hol- lands opinion: "the blood," he says, "has vi- tality in every sense in which we can assign it to the solids, of the instances given of the blood concerned in transmitting hereditary taint, it will be remarked that they are perfectly in accordance with the transmission of hereditary likeness, oc- casionally observed in breeding, and which is also even more difficult to conceive or imasj:ine. 1 allude to the curious statement lately brought forward by Mr. James McGillavry, of lluntly, V. 8. — That when a pure animal of any breed has been pregnant to an animal of a different — 38 — breed, eucli pregnant animal is a cross ever after, the purity of her blood being contaminated in consequence of her connection with the foreign animal. The two following cases may serve as examples: "a pure Aberdeenshire heifer was served with a pure Teeswater bull, by which she had a first cross calf. The folh ing season the same cow w^as served with a pure Aberdeenshire bull ; the produce was a cross calf, which, when two years old, had short horns, the parents being both polled." Again, "a pure Aberdeenshire cow was served, in 1845, with a cross bull, that is to say, an animal produced between a first- cross cow and a pure Teeswater bull. To this bull she had a cross calf. I^ext season she was served with a pure Aberdeenshire bull ; the pro- duce was quite a cross in shape and colour.'' The following striking example occurred in De- vonshire, a half bred mare straved from the field and was served by a donkey: the produce was a mule. The following year the mare was taken more care of, and was ser^s-ed by a half bred horse, yet the progeny l)ore a strong likeness to t the previous mule, in tlie reproduction of the up- right mane, niarks, and even colour and form. Is this not a striking lesson to breeders who arc in the habit of putting their heifers the first timo to any mongrel bull, not being aware thut the purity of her second stock would be contamin- ated by t]\e iirst connection ! The ox[>lanatioi oftered ])y Mr. McGillivray of the phenomenon i; ingenious, and consistent with acknowledgei facts after-1 hetwe tus) ii oontir blood, there i the sj tlioug tractii. Xow, mater' liave ties of ■>f the IIUISS ( ties t( fiiust nude with of thi the m tern ; .-)houl( she m undo frame appea iiiom unce f'hietl 'Uidoi 39 — -er after, nated in e foreign serve as ifer was hi eh she ason the eenshire h, when nts beinc"- leenshiro )ull, that en a iirst- To this she was ; -tlie pro- colour.'' •ed in Dc- I the field lice was a ^as taken half bred ikene^^s to of the ujt- md form. a who arc I first time thut th^ contamiu- «c[)lanatioii onienon i:^ lowledgcd I tacts in physiology. " By the formation of the •after-birth (plecenta) a connection is establish! d l)etween the mother and the living creature (fro- tus) in her womb, through which the latter is '•ontinually drawing supplies from the mother's blood, for its growth and maintenance. But there are good grounds for believing that, through the same channel, the mother is as constantly, r hough, doubtless, in much less quantity, abs- tracting materials from the blood of the foetus. Xow, is it at all unreasonable to suppose that the materials in question may be charged with (or have inherent in them) the constitutional quali- lios of the foetus, and that, passing into the body ')f the mother, and mixing there with the general mass of her blood, they may impart those quali- ties to her sj'stem." " The qualities referred to must in part be derived by the foetus from its male parent, and be to that extent endentical with his. The distinctive peculiarities, therefore, of that parent may thus come to be engratted on the mother, or to attach in some way to her sys- tem; nind if so, what more likely than that they >hould be communicated by her to any offspring she may afterwards have by other males ! and, under some views, it is the portion of the animal frame which is especially so endowed. Its first :i|)pearance in the area vasculosa of the germinal mend)rane of the end)ryo is prior to the exist- • •nce of those very organs which, after birth, 'hietly uiiijister fresh materials to it ; and though undeii^'oing constant change, it has this in com- — 40 — mon with the animal solids, and with those equal- ly which are most frequently the subjects of he- reditary affection." My next example involves a similar question, and is an instance of a disease that can scarcely be conceived in any other manner than as circu- lating in the blood, and conveyed to different parts or organs in the body. (d) Rheumatism in cattle. — There is much that is curious in the tendency to rheumatic affections so frequently observed in the ligaments and sy- novial membranes of the joints of cattle, and likewise in the fascia or cellular coat of the mus- cles. This disease is attended by stiffness and inability to move, pain on pressure, and more or less febrile symptoms. Sometimes it attacks one or two joints, and occasionally shifts its action to the others. This tendency of the disease to shift from one part to another is evidence of constitu- tional affection, and dependent on temperament and state of the circulating iluids. Among the causes which predispose to rheumatism must bo placed an hereditary tendency and temperament of the animal, for, although we find it prevalent in cold, marshy districts, in exposed places, and during the spring and autumn months, when there is the greatest vicissitude of heat and cold. Vet why the same agents should i)roduce rheu- matism in one case, bronchitis in another, pleu- risy in a third, and dysentery in a fourth, and so on, can only be explained by supposing that each individual has some particular organ or orgaiin a differ re< ^ hre dis< ley tor wc [e equal- ts of he- [uestion, scarcely las eircu- Idiftereiit uch tliat ffectiona and sy- tie, and lie mns- hess and more or tacks one action to ^e to shift constitu- peranient long the must bo perament prevalent tices, and 18, when in id cold, ce rheu- er, pi cu- ll, and so that each )r organri — 41 — which are more prone to disease than other part.s of its organisation. Mr. Dupuy relates some cases in proofs of glanders being hereditary. " A mare," he says, "on dissection, exhibited every appearance of glanders ; her filly who resembled her in form as well as her vicious propensities, died glandered at six years old. A second and a third mare and their foals ju'escnted the same fatal proof that glanders is hereditary." It must be obvious that all causes, as well as tlio eiiects they produce, must have an intimate rehition to the condition of the living frame, and that those which might be quite inefficient on one animal will be more j;;owerfully active on another, owing to the state of vital energy at the time. The effects produced bv various animal and vei>'etable exhalations on ditterent horses fully ilhistrate this position, pro- ducing glanders in some, farcy in others, and grease and opthalmia in very many. (e) Chronic dysentery. — There appears a strong tendency in cattle to take on this disease. A scanty allowance, with exposure to cold or wet, or anything else that may disturb the balance of the circulation, will induce it when the hereditary predisposition exists. Mr. Youatt was of opinion that the practice of l)reeding from the nearest ailinitics induced this disease, and cites as an example that of the dish- ley long-horned breed of cattle, which were no- toriously bred in this manner, not only by Baku- well, the originator of the breed, but also by his — 42 — sdccessors, and they were so highly disposed to dysentery that it proved the element of their des- truction. That the breeding too far, and too in- cautiously "in-and-in," will produce a weakness of constitution that predisposes to dysentery, is very probable* A delicacy of temperament and form, with a tendency to arrive quickly to matu- rity of bone and muscle, is attained by breeding In this manner ; but with these valuable proper- ties a weakness of constitution is engendered that renders the cattle less hardy, and less capa- ble of withstanding irregularities of living, and exposure to vicissitudes of weather. A question presents itself here with reference to "in-and-in" breeding, that, in such instances, whatever here- ditary tendency to disease might exist, is certain to be developed in the progeny in its most mark- ed and aggravated forms ; and on the same prin- ciple will cross breeding tend to reduce, or, may be, remove the disposition altogether. The next examples of hereditary tendency to disease, and the last we shall adduce, are those connected with the eyes of horses and cattle, they also, very probably, depend on some peculiar state of the blood, involving the same question as gout in the human subject, though perhaps more dependent on occasional exciting causes from without. (/) Constitutional opthalmia in horses. A dis- ease of a peculiar inflammatory character^ show- ing itself at intervals, and especially at a certain period of life, generally from three to five years 43 sed to ir dea- oo in- aknesa ery, is ut and matu- ceding roper- ndered s capa- ^, and uestion md-in" T here- certain : mark- le prin- )r, may ency to i those ie, they eculiar ition as 8 more 3 from A dis- » show- certain ? years old. When the hereditary proclivity exists, it is easily excited by miasms arising from crowded, dirty, and imperfectly ventilated stables. My case-book and memory furnish me with some scores of cases in proof of this. One of these i.-* connected with a horse called "Katerfelto," that sorred mares in the countv of Devon some thirty years since. He was a favorite stallion with th(^ farmers, and got a very extensive, and, with the exception of the strong constitutional tendency to specific opthalmia, an excellent stock. Not- withstanding so many years have elapsed, yet the disease could be accurately traced from him to his descendants, handed down through the fe- male line, some ten years since. {g) Specific opthalmia in cattle is not so com- mon a disease as w^ith the horse, but it has the same periodical character, and will disappear and return until it reaches its natural termination, — blindness. The constitutional nature of the dis- ease being once correctly ascertained, the farmers usually fatten the animal for the butcher, or at least they should do so, as its hereditary character is as certain as it is in the horse. {h) Gutta serena, commonly known as the "glass eye," is a disease characterised by a pre- ternaturally dilated and motionless pupil, the consequence of palsy of the optic nerve, or of the retina. It is fortunately a disease of rare occur- rence, and is supposed to be produced by deter- mination of blood to the head. But cases some- timea occur, in which there is no discernible cere- 44 bnil aftoction. A case of this kind happened to a horse of our own, and on making oncpiiries sonie- tiniL*. after, of tlie breeder, tlie dam was acknow- ledged to be similarly affecterl. Mr. Baker, Y. S., Reiyate, alludes to a case of a foal which was born with gutta serena, and on making tlie necessary inquiries, the mare's eyes were found perfect, l)ut the sire was proved to be thus diseased ; and what was still more wortliy of remark, not one of his coirs esca[)ed imperfect vision. Connected with the subject of constitutional ophthalmia, instances sometimes occur where the disease has been lost in one generation and makes its appearance in another. This was remarkably so in the case just recorded of the ''Katerfelto" stock. The gout in the human subject will at once occur as a familiar example of this singular variety in the general law of the perpetuation of the species. The breeder sometimes meets with analoii-ous cases in the strikini»: and strono-ly- o 00%' marked features of an animal being lost in one generation, and re-appearing in the second or third. Connected with this siui^ular anomaly in another variety observed in the transmission of disease — that of a number of the offspring being affected in common with some particular disease, of which there has been no certain instance oi\ the side of either parent. Instances of this kind can be adduced with respect to curbs and spavins. A thoroughbred horse, ''* Uoyal VVilliam," jserved mares in Devon and Cornwall for some ing den that the d to a sonic- vllOW- asc (>f rid oil eyed to be ortliv )erfeet Ltioniil ire the' makes rkably 'felto'" will at iiguhir tlon of ;8 with •oiigly- iu one Diui or lalv in sioii of being liseasc, ice on .8 kind [)avins. Ham, " ' sorue — 45 — five or six yeart*. He was a large, powerful hor?»e for a tborougbbred, and was perfectly free from curbs. I have examined more than fifty of his stock, and believe that thirty five per cent had curbs, varying from three years old and upwards This horse, getting out of repute in consequence, was sent to Australia, and I understand that there, as in England, he got a curby race. Mr. Cartledge, V. S., stated, at a meeting of the Ve- terinary Medical Association, a short time since, that a thoroughbred stallion,''called '-Fifty-three" begat foals in his locality, and of these no less than twenty-six became afflicted with curbs be- fore they were twelve months old, and yet this horse had no symptom of the disease. At the same meeting, Mr. Varnell, V. S., stated that an entire horse, called "Monarch," had served mares in the county of Norfolk for some years, and on his colts being broken, some at three and others at four years old, the majority were affect- ed with spavins, splints, and ring-bones. Yet he himself was entirely free from any of these dis- eases. These curious exceptions to the law by which hereditary diseases are supposed to be governed, may be referred to the condition last mentioned, of the revival of a hereditary like- ness absent in one or more generations, and fami- liarly known to breeders under the term " breed- ing back." The explanation may not be consi- dered a satisfactory one, for it must be confessed that we have but very obscure notions of some ol the laws which regulate variation in animals. — 4G — I That such laws do exist appears liig'hly probable from the nu.nerous instances of the constant re- currence of similar phenomena under given cir- • •umstances, which seem to preclude tlieir depen- these rise or imat!;!- — 47 — the subject of hereditary disease bears to Ids pur- suits, it being one tliat cannot fail to enter as an element in his estimate of the purity and value of an animal's breed, and to form an object of special regard in the breeding of stock. It will prove to him, also, that breeding is not so depen- dent entirely on chance as many persons believe. Events may, and doubtless will, arise to baffle human foresight; but even these will serve as beacons for future guidance, if but fairly consi- dered and understood. Discrepancies of this cha- racter are liut too commonly set down as the <'a- ])rice of nature, which may oftentimes be easily accounted for, if such persons will take the trou- ble to search and examine for themselves. As a golden rule in breeding, the old Yorkshire adage ''that like produces like," may be safely acted on at all times, and should never be lost sight of by the breeder. ? a sen- which