in a general sense, the producing, nourishing, and educating, all manner of young animals.

in a moral sense, denotes a person's deportment or behaviour in the external offices and decors of social life. In this sense we say well-bred, ill-bred, a man of breeding, &c. Good-breeding is hard to define; none can understand the speculation but those who have the practice. Good-breeding amounts to much the same with what is otherwise called politeness, among the ancient Romans urbanity. Good-breeding is near to virtue, and will of itself lead a man a great part of the way towards the fame. It teaches him to rejoice in acts of civility, to seek out objects of compassion, and to be pleased with every occasion of doing them good offices. Lord Shaftesbury compares the well-bred man with the real philosopher; both characters aim at what is excellent, aspire to a just taste, and carry in view the model of what is beautiful and becoming. The conduct and manners of the one are formed according to the most perfect ease, and good entertainment of company; of the other, according to the strictest interest of mankind: the one according to his rank and quality in his private station; the other according to his rank and dignity in nature. Horace seems to have united both characters,

Quid verum atque decens cura et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum.

See the article Good-MANNERS.

BREEDING of Horses. See EQUUS.

BREEDING of Fish. The necessary qualities of a pond, to make it serve well for breeding fish, are very different from those which are to make it serve for the feeding of them, inasmuch that some particular ponds serve only for one of these purposes, and others for the other; and scarce ever the same pond is found to answer for them both. In general, it is much more rare to find a good breeding pond than a good feeding one.

The best indications of a good-breeding pond are these; that there be a good quantity of rushes and grass about its sides, with gravelly shoals, such as horse-ponds usually have: when a pond has this property, and takes to the breeding of fish, it is amazing what a progress will be made in a little time. The spawn of fish is prodigious in quantity; and where it succeeds, one is able to produce many millions; thus, in one of these breeding ponds, two or three melters, and as many spawners, will, in a very little time, flock the whole country. When these ponds are not meant entirely for breeding, but the owner would have the fish to grow to some size in them, the method is to thin the numbers, because they would otherwise starve one another, and to put in other fish that will prey upon the young, and thin them in the quickest manner. Eels and perch are the most useful on this account; because they prey not only upon the spawn itself, but upon the young fry from the first hatching to the time they are of considerable size. Some fish are observed to breed indifferently in all kinds of waters, and that in considerable plenty; of this nature are the roach, pike, and perch.