INHERITANCE, VARIATION AND SELECTION. 45 



rocal crosses between the horse and the ass, in which the mule more 

 strongly resembles the ass, and the hinny resembles the horse. In 

 some cases of crosses between different breeds, one breed is pre- 

 potent over the other irrespective of whether it is represented by 

 the male or female. 



In cases of crosses between different breeds of animals, pre- 

 potency appears to lie with that breed which has had its charac- 

 teristics most firmly fixed by in-and-in breeding. Thus pure blood 

 animals are prepotent over mongrel stocks. This fact is sometimes 

 taken advantage of by breeders, as was the case of the production 

 of the Charmoise breed of sheep in France. It appears that half- 

 bred English sheep will thrive in France, but that full, or more than 

 half, English blood are failures; also that half-bred sheep do not 

 exhibit the improvement desired. Under these circumstances M. 

 Nalingie-Nouel proceeded as follows: He produced a mixture of 

 four native French breeds, which was without decided character, 

 and to such mixed-blood ewes he put a pure New Kent ram. From 

 this "one obtains a lamb containing fifty-hundredths of the purest 

 and most ancient of English blood, with twelve and a half hun- 

 dredths of four different French races, which are individually 

 lost in the preponderance of English blood, and disappear almost 

 entirely, leaving the improving type in the ascendant." 37 



As between two individuals of the same breed, the same rule 

 probably holds, that the individual which has had its characteristics 

 the more firmly fixed by in-breeding will be prepotent. In the life 

 of an individual, a character is more firmly fixed in comparative 

 old age than in youth, consequently we may assume, in the absence 

 of evidence to the contrary, that, other things being equal, /-he older 

 individual will be prepotent over the younger one. 



(37) Miles, Stock Breeding, p. 200. 



