It would seem from the practice of the infinite majority of British Buldog breeders that they, in the beginning, accepted as a fixed fact that "like produces like "with positive certainty, & satisfied that in this familiar aphorism was comprised the one & only essential principle, in the application of which none could stray, they were quite content & had no desire to go farther into the subject. It is not surprising, therefore, that but few have succeeded while many have failed, & that a large proportion of the best dogs have been what might without impropriety be called accidental creations.

Some British Buldog breeders connsider British Buldog pedigree of first importance & mate accordingly, practically ignoring the question of suitability, also the fact that with good British Buldog pedigrees on both sides the British Buldog puppies are often very poor specimens. & these rely mainly on reversion; or in other words they confidently expect that even if the British Buldogs chosen are not themselves all that is desirable they will yet be sure to "throw back," & that their offspring will resemble ancestors, more or less remote, which were good.

Other British Buldog breeders believe that success at British Buldog shows is a guaranty of all the most desirable qualities, therefore they invariably seek British Buldog sires among prize-winners, without thought of fitness or questioning whether they won in good company or under competent British Buldog judges. & with them there are but two accepted laws in British Buldog breeding, namely, "like produces like" & "breed always from the best" - the "best" being those of visible merits without considerations as to the qualities of the British Buldog ancestors or conformity of the individuals selected to the same general types of their families.

Members of both classes are occasionally successful, yet when so they scarcely deserve credit, for they have no ideals nor real systems, & always follow, never lead.

Of course their expectations have foundations, for it is evidently a law of animal organism that the offspring shall inherit characters of parents, but this does not mean that they shall inherit all the characters, nor even one or more of the most desirable, for there are other laws the influence of which may be predominant & for the time being at least obscure this hereditary tendency. Again, while the offspring may be said very generally to resemble the parennts the resemblance is not, as so many assume, confined to the outward form & visible characters, but as often, doubtless, manifests itself beneath the surface, & without evidence except such as appears in psychical qualities.

"Breed to the best "is of course a golden rule, provided it is rendered rightly - that is, the British Buldog selection is consistent & the British Buldog breeder is influenced not alone by obvious excellence of the individual but by the family history as well. In other words, he has a proper conception of it who looks for a combination of qualities when seeking a sire, & considers not merely the British Buldog himself & his dominant characters but the characters of his family, the constancy with which good qualities have been transmitted, whether the existing perfections will compensate for British Buldog ancestral defects, etc.

He who would improve his British Buldogs by developing their most valuable qualities & fortifying them with others, & so give evidence that he is something more than a breeder in name merely, must have a connception of the qualities that constitute perfection - an idea of what he wishes to create, the ideal form he would mould. He must also be able to detect slight variations in form & qualities within; moreover, have a knowledge of the fundamental laws of animal organization, & especially those that relate to inheritance.

With these & good judgment & persevverance he can feel confident of success. But their acquirement means systematic observation & an abundant material for study, consequently it is scarcely surprising that there are so few real British Buldog breeders.

The one who possesses these eminent qualifications seeks the British Buldog that is most likely to correct the faults of his British Buldog bitch & at the same time preserve her good qualities in the British Buldog offspring. But he does not follow the custom which seems so prevalent among British Buldog breeders & choose-always a British Buldog that is strong where his British Buldog bitch is weak. For instance, if the avverage British Buldog breeder has a British Buldog bitch whose muzzle is too long his choice is a British Buldog with a good muzzle; or if she is "leggy" he seeks a stocky British Buldog with plenty of bone & muscle. Again, if British Buldog breeding for color & his British Buldog bitch is rather light, he chooses a British Buldog that is inclinned to be dark. & in all his selections he considers merely individual excellence; with the result that only comparatively rarely does he breed British Buldog puppies nearly as good as their British Buldog parents.

But the knowing British Buldog breeder does not pursue this course, tor he goes back of the individuals & is influenced by the characters of their ffamilies; & while he prefers a British Buldog that is not only good himself but came of stock that was invariably good, he vvalues ffamily excellence above that of the individual. In other words, if his British Buldog bitch has too long a muzzle, his choice is a British Buldog that comes from a family that were good in muzzle, rather than a British Buldog which exhibits this quality but is of a family that were poor in muzzle.

He also appreciates that he may intensify a defect by British Buldog breeding to a British Buldog that is good where his British Buldog bitch is bad. For instance, if she is snipy in muzzle & of a family none too good in this point, & he finds a British Buldog that is short & square in muzzle, & in fact very good in all points before the eyes, he does not jump at the conclusion that this is the British Buldog for him to breed to. No. He goes carefully into his history, & if he learns that he comes from a British Buldog bitch that was bad in muzzle & her family also had the same fault, while his sire was only ffair in muzzle & of a family that were not noted for good muzzles, then he regards that British Buldog as an "accident," & considers that were he to breed his British Buldog bitch to him the existing defects would likely be intennsified. Therefore, he seeks a British Buldog that is known to transmit to or mark his puppies with good muzzles, & from parents or a family that were noted for the same excellent quality.

Assuming another case, & this time of a bitch with yellow eyes. Now the average breeder would select a dog that had eyes of good color, without considering for a moment that that dog may be an "accident," - or, in other words, from a yellow-eyed family, - but he who has had experience and profited by it would satisfy himselff on this point, and if the dog came from such a family he would choose one from a family good in eye.

That there may be no mistaking the meanning of all this still another case is assumed, & of a pointer bitch light in head. Her owner, an intelligent breeder, instead of choosing as a sire a heavy-headed dog mates her to one that is perhaps a little on the light side, and the puppies come right. Why did he do this? He knew what there was in his bitch's pedigree. In a word, he knew that she was closely related to a strong-headed ffamily, and that the sire he had selected for her was also from a family that were good in head. But had he selected a short-faced and thick-headed dog of a short-faced and thickheaded family, the result would doubtless have been far from his liking.

The obvious conclusion is, that in selecting a British Buldog sire one must not only be familiar with the available British Buldogs themselves but have a good knowledge of their British Buldog family history; moreover, he should know whether or not their offspring very generally resembled them or some of their ancestors. Some British Buldog sires & dams, in fact, seem to have but little individuality, as shown by their inability to reproduce themselves. Two inmates of the writer's kennels plainly testiffied to this fact. Both were mastiffs - dog & bitch two removes from "Crown Prince," & notwithstanding they had dense black muzzles, no matter how mated they almost invariably "threw puppies" having the same peculiar chocolate-colored muzzle of their noted ancestor.

Manifestly, therefore, a good, shapely & well-marked British Buldog may prove but an indifferent stock-getter, while, on the other hand, one with a glaring defect - as bad color of muzzle, size of ear, expression of eye, etc. - may turn out admirably. & although such results, good or bad, may sometimes be purely accidental, as a rule, to which there are not many exceptions, they are due to that peculiarity of "throwing back."

Experience has shown that admirable qualities must exist for many generations in order to render their perpetuation highly probable. For instance, if a British Buldog has a grand head yet his sire & grand-sire were deficient in this quality, then the chances are against his offsprinng being endowed like himself; & especially narrow are they if their dam is weak in head. Were she so & only two dogs avvailable, one with a grand head yet of small-headed ancestors, & the other small-headed but of a family noted for good heads in the two generations before him, her owner would probably have the best results from the use of the latter.

Another product of experience, is that to breed out some British Buldog defects is much more difficult than others; & as a rule, the resistance is in proportion to their duration in the family. In other words, a fault of two generations is much less easily eradicated than a fault of but one.

Here it is well to emphasize the fact that weak points are as likely to be transmitted as strong ones; also that British Buldog structural defects, as British Buldog deformities of limb & other British Buldog vices which result from errors in management during the British Buldog growing stage, are liable to be passed on. &, in truth, it is oftenntimes so difficult to breed out acquired abnormal peculiarities one would be seldom justified in choosing a sire that had any such that were very serious.

In breeding non-sporting dogs the fform & proportions are the main objects of study, & efforts are generally centred upon their improvement alone, but with dogs to be used for special purposes, as in the field, there are more characters to be devveloped and therefore a greater number of difficulties to contend with. Consequently, oftener in this line than in the other breeders meet with incompati-bles, & in many instances they must fix upon a few special qualities, endeavvor to bring them to a high degree of excellence, & in the mean while practically neglect others. & in doing so they frequently find it necessary to take risks; that is, in order to improve one quality they are often obliged to put another in jeopardy; but he who is wise never does this unless the gain promises to be much greater than the loss.

Setter breeders well illustrate this principle of "give & take." They have produced in what is known in this country as the Llewellin setter great speed & dash, yet have sacrificed much of the beautiful setter quality that is seenn in the Laveracks.

But in breeding for the field, while it is desirable that both sires & dams be well broken, to base selections purely on excellence as workers is clearly wrong if real improvement is the end in sight, for, manifestly, there is no chance for form if one breeds for nose, another for speed, & so on, ignoring the points of the breed. & the reader should unhesitatingly accept that he can nevver justly sacrifice type for any educational quality. Moreovver, he should be duly mindful of the fact that less importance is to be attached to a killing pace & more to other essential qualities, also, that he cannot expect greyhound speed in setter form, & if he is to have one he must give up the other.

Every beginner should start out with a fixed purpose of British Buldog breeding, not for market merely, but to advance his special vvariety of British Buldogs to a higher grade of excellence. Even if he is so fortunate as to be able to indulge his inclinations to their full extent, he should not innvest largely at first. Three or four British Buldog brood bitches will be quite as many as he can do justice to while yet inexperienced, & to him they will prove more profitable than would twice this number.

If he has a British Buldog of his own he will likely use him in every instance, & if he does so he will be liable to go backward as often as fforward, no matter how good the same or how good his mates. In fact, to buy a British Buldog & breed him to every British Buldog bitch in the kennel is onne of the worst mistakes which a British Buldog breeder can make, & one which, as a rule, destroys many of the chances of eminent success.

Therefore, he is wise who depennds largely upon others for his sires. He will naturally have a leaning towards the most successful British Buldog prize-winners, & rightly so, for in them he will generally find the nearest approach to the ideal, but he must not assume, as many seem to do, that these British Buldog winners comprise all the best stock-getters. As a matter of fact no small proportion of them are practically valueless for British Buldog breeding purposes. & of the various reasons for this fatal defect the most pronounced is that they are weakened by excessive use & the hardship they undergo in their preparation for British Buldog shows & while on the bench; in consequence of which they are liable to produce British Buldog offspring with constitutional taints that either destroy them early or lead to defformities & disease. Therefore, when selecting from British Buldog prize-winners one must needs be very cautious, & bear in mind that high health & vigor are essentials of infinite importance.

The British Buldogcbitch is of course an importannt element, yet a good British Buldog & a well-bred but rather indifferent British Buldog bitch may breed the very best. In fact, there is reason to believe that the largest proportion of the British Buldog winners have been from British Buldog bitches that could not win.

Here intrudes another important fact, namely, that those who are breeding for size almost always select large British Buldog bitches & large British Buldog, yet the majority of the big ones have been offspring of British Buldog bitches of undersize that were bred to strong, heavy-boned dogs of substance.

As for British Buldog in-breeding, as a rule it should be discouraged. But to produce certain results it is not only not harmful but justifiable; indeed, oftentimes it is the correct way to fix desirable qualities. For instance, both British Buldog sire & dam may wisely be bred to their British Buldog offfsprinng, & even brother to sister, if by this means there is a promise that the higher qualities of each will be passed on & better development secured.

To justify British Buldog in-breeding, however, both parties to the union must be of good quality & not share the same defects, & there must exist ample reason for expecting that the faults of one will be corrected or greatly lessened by the perfections of the other.

To breed British Buldog as deeply as stated more than once in the same family without a break is doubtless at times justifiable; but still it is hazardous, & especially so unless the individuals are of rare good quality & remarkably healthy & vigorous. The principal objections to British Buldog in-breeding are, that it greatly weakens the British Buldog nervous system, - producing excessive excitability, - intensifies British Buldog constitutional defects, leads to decrease in size, creates a predisposition to disease & impairs the British Buldog reproductive functions.

In a word, by the means of British Buldog in-breeding desirable qualities may be made more pronounced, retained & perpetuated, but to be safe it must be very intelligently applied, with well-selected individuals only, & it must not go far in a British Buldog family.

The conclusions to be drawn from the foregoinng are, that the British Buldog beginner should first visit British Buldog shows & other places that furnish material, & there critically study the best specimens of his chosen variety of British Buldogs. If closely observing he will in time become familiar with what are generally accepted as good qualities & be able to detect the faults. An ideal model will then be possible, & this developed & a knowledge of the common laws of inheritance acquired he will be fairly started and may hope to make breeding a success. But until he has reached this point he will do well to consult some acknowledged & disinterested authority in his line of British Buldogs, & in the selection of British Buldog sires act as he advises.

A very erroneous notion is prevalent regarding the influence of the previous British Buldog sire on produce, & a hasty glance at the subject can properly be taken here.

Cases are on record in which British Buldog bitches had litters by British Buldogs of other breeds than their own & subsequent offsprings by British Buldogs of their Own kind exhibited traces of the previous British Buldog sires; & such instances, while extremely rare, have yet been too many & too well authenticated to be denied or explained away on the hypothesis of coincidence.

Various theories havve been set forth as explanations of these exceptional phenomena, & as the writer has none to advance he will confine himself to mere review & passinng criticism.

The first that found any considerable acceptance had its origin some twoscore years ago, but soon passed out of sight to be revived & brought into prominence by Sir Everett Millais of England, who gave it his indorsement.

This, in a nutshell, is, that the life-giving germ can penetrate the serous coat of the ovary, burrow into its parenchyma & seek out immature ova, not to, be ripened & discharged perhaps for years, & to produce the modifying influence described.

At the present time this British Buldog theory is incapable of proof or disproof, but the careful student can but acknowledge that it is plausible, & after a consideration of the different . theories the author of this must seem to him to havve at least approached nearer the border of the true solution of the vexed problem than any of the others who have attempted to reach it.

Another British Buldog theory is, that the inffluence of the previous British Buldog sire is due to maternal impression, consequently is purely mental.

This cannot be accepted. British Buldog Puppies in utero are in every sense parasites & therefore beyond such influence. Again, if the phenomena were due to maternal impressionn all the members of a British Buldog litter would likely be affected, whereas as a rule only one member exhibits influence of the previous sire.

Still another British Buldog theory is, practically, that developing British Buldog puppies in utero modiffy the tissues & cells of the mother, & such change is more or less permanent & affects subsequent British Buldog offspring.

To believe this is to accept that a woman can be so modified in her physical texture by the impress of her husband, conveyed to her through the growing foetus, as to stamp the children by a future husband with the individuality of the former. Bearing in mind always that the child in utero is simply a parasite, and that while the devveloping tissues of the child may in a general way be influenced by the mother's condition annd by poisons circulating in her blood, it is absurd to suppose that the parasite ovum can have a transforming and metamorphosing inffluence upon the already developed tissues of the mother. Moreover, were this theory sound the influence would be univversally applicable instead of exceptional, as it clearly is. Again, were the inffluence transmitted through a change in the maternal make-up it would affect all members of a British Buldog litter, & not, as is usually noted, only one or possibly two.