Page:The Evolution of British Cattle.djvu/149

 to account for the extraordinary milking powers of some animals and the beef-producing powers of others without the assistance of Darwin or De Vries or somebody else. Did any Dutch cows produce twelve hundred gallons of milk a year, or did any Dutch bullocks weigh thirteen or fourteen hundredweights at less than two years old two hundred years ago; or if they did not, could they have done so provided they had received similar treatment to that received by their descendants in Britain to-day? To answer these questions is of course to answer the former ones; but as we have no data before us to answer these, the former must also remain undecided.

These remarks lead to another phase of the same question, namely, Is it possible, without crossing, to endow a set of animals with characters which none of them already possess? For example, is it possible, without crossing, to make the North Devon as large as the Shorthorn, or as black as the Aberdeen- Angus? If Darwin's theory be correct, then it might be possible, but how long would it take? If De Vries's organic jerks occur, it may also be possible, but who is to have the patience to sit down and watch for them? On the other hand, it must be remembered that the origin of all our improved breeds has been in the selections of such men as Bakewell and his kind, of unparalleled judges as we