< Page:The Evolution of British Cattle.djvu
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BLENDING AND SORTING

129

four of their progeny being red, as may be seen from this Mendelian scheme—

BB →
⤨/→Br may produce BB, Br, rB or rr.[1]

The white markings of the Longhorn are dominant to black on the same parts of the animal, and, being always visible, were easily eliminated. So far as our present knowledge goes, the white flecks seem to have been recessive characters, which again would account for the difficulty of breeding them out.

But perhaps the most important character which the Aberdeen-Angus cattle received from other races is their size. Crossed again and again by larger breeds, they eventually became as large as the cattle by which they were crossed. Whether the first crosses were intermediate or masquerading hybrids is not absolutely clear, but in any case, the initial crossing and the continued selection of the larger animals for breeding purposes resulted in a small breed being converted into a large one. The following quotation,[2] part of which is irrelevant as regards size

  1. ↑ When red cattle were bred with duns, the hybrids of light dun and black, they produced blacks and yellows, thus—
    →
    ⤨    →     gives (black), and (yellow).
  2. ↑ A part of this communication was quoted in the chapter on the Norse Cattle.
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