The Principles of Breeding or, Glimpses at the Physiological Laws involved in the Reproduction and Improvement of Domestic Animals — Reading Companion

The Language of the Breeder

Goodale's diction reveals a writer deeply embedded in the agricultural discourse of his time. He uses terms like 'neat cattle' (explaining in a transcriber's note that this refers to domesticated straight-backed bovine animals, not well-dressed ones) and 'stock husbandry' as a leading aim. His prose is direct and instructional, favoring concrete nouns and active verbs. When discussing the law of similarity and variation, he speaks of 'the best machine' and 'raw material,' framing animals as inputs in a production system. The preface's modest claim—'to furnish a useful, rather than an original book'—underscores his practical orientation. He addresses the farmer directly, using 'you' and 'your' to create a sense of shared enterprise. This plainspoken authority contrasts with the more speculative passages where he reports European experiments, such as those of Mon. Martegoute, whose detailed observations on ram vigor and sex ratios are rendered in Goodale's own summarizing prose.

Evidence from the Sheepfold

Goodale incorporates specific experimental evidence to support his principles. He recounts the work of Giron de Bazareingues, who found that the sex of progeny depended on the relative vigor of the coupled individuals: strong rams with weak or aged ewes produced more males, while the reverse produced more females. Goodale then presents Mon. Martegoute's daily observations at the Dishley Mauchamp Merinos sheepfold, which refined this law. Martegoute noted that at the start of rutting season, when the ram was in full vigor, more males were procreated; as the ram weakened from frequent mating, females predominated; and after a period of reduced exertion, males again took the lead. Goodale also reports Martegoute's tables showing that ewes bearing females were on average heavier and lost more weight during suckling than those bearing males. These details ground the abstract laws in measurable, observable phenomena.

The Structure of Inquiry

The book's organization reflects a methodical approach to breeding science. Goodale divides his subject into distinct chapters: Law of Similarity, Law of Variation, Atavism, Relative Influence of the Parents, Law of Sex, In-and-in Breeding, Crossing, Breeding in the Line, and Characteristics of Breeds. Each chapter builds on the previous, moving from general principles to specific applications. The chapter on in-and-in breeding, for instance, is introduced as a 'disputed point,' signaling that Goodale acknowledges controversy. He does not merely assert his own view but presents evidence from various sources, allowing the reader to weigh the arguments. This structure—moving from theory to practice, from similarity to variation, from individual to breed—mirrors the logical progression of a farmer's own decision-making process.

The Farmer as Experimenter

Goodale consistently positions the farmer as an active participant in the generation of knowledge. He reports that Mon. Martegoute's conclusions came from 'daily observations' and 'monthly weighings,' implying that any diligent stockman could replicate such methods. The book itself is designed as a tool for this kind of practical inquiry: it supplies principles, but the reader must apply them to local conditions. Goodale's frequent references to 'experiments purposely made' and 'observations sufficiently repeated' emphasize the importance of systematic record-keeping. He does not present breeding as a mysterious art but as a discipline governed by laws that can be discovered through careful attention. This democratization of science—placing the farmer alongside the professor—is one of the book's most distinctive features.

Goodale's manual rewards the reader who approaches it as a working document rather than a finished treatise. The principles he assembles—similarity, variation, atavism, parental influence—are offered as tools for thought, not fixed rules. Readers will find the most value in the specific experiments and observations he records, which provide concrete examples of how nineteenth-century breeders tested their hypotheses. The book invites the modern reader to consider how much of this knowledge remains embedded in contemporary practice, and how much has been transformed by genetics.

Reading this old breeding manual, I felt the patient, almost tender attention those farmers gave to bloodlines and inherited traits—which reminded me of my grandfather’s ledger, where he noted each cow’s quirks. That same quiet devotion to understanding nature’s stubborn details came back to me reading Field Mice as Farm and Orchard Pests — Context and Discussion, where even a pest becomes a story worth telling slowly.