Chap. XII. 



INHERITANCE. 



455 



legs, roaring or broken and thick wind, melanosis, specific 

 ophthalmia, and blindness (the great French veterinary Huzard 

 going so far as to sa} r that a blind race could soon be formed), 

 crib-biting, jibbing and ill-temper, are all plainly hereditary. 

 Youatt sums up by saying " there is scarcely a malady to 

 which the horse is subject which is not hereditary ;" and M. 

 Bernard adds that the doctrine " that there is scarcely a 

 disease which does not run in the stock, is gaining new 

 advocates every day." 21 So it is in regard to cattle, with 

 consumption, good and bad teeth, fine skin, &c. &c. But 

 enough, and more than enough, has been said on disease. 

 Andrew Knight, from his own experience, asserts that disease 

 is hereditary with plants; and this assertion is endorsed by 

 Lindley. 22 



Seeing how hereditary evil qualities are, it is fortunate 

 that good health, vigour, and longevity are equally inherited. 

 It was formerly a well-known practice, when annuities were 

 purchased to be received during the life-time of a nominee, to 

 search out a person belonging to a family of which many 

 members had lived to extreme old age. As to the inheritance 

 of vigour and endurance, the English race-horse offers an ex- 

 cellent instance. Eclipse begot 334, and King Herod 497 

 winners. A " cock-tail " is a horse not purely bred, but with 

 only one-eighth, or one-sixteenth impure blood in his veins, 

 yet very few instances have ever occurred of such horses 

 having won a great race. They are sometimes as fleet for 

 short distances as thoroughbreds, but as Mr. Robson, the 



21 These various statements are 

 taken from the following works and 

 papers : — Youatt on l The Horse,' pp 

 35, 220. Lawrence, ' The Horse,' p 

 00. Karkeek, in an excellent paper 

 in ' Gard. Chronicle,' 1853, p. 92 

 Mr. Burke, in ' Journal of R. Agricul 

 Soc. of England,' vol. v. p. 511 

 * Encyclop. of Rural Sports, p. 279 

 Girou de Buzareignues, ' Philosoph 

 Phys.,' p. 215. See following papers 

 in ' The Veterinary ;' Roberts, in vol 

 ii. p. 144 ; M. Marrimpoey, vol. ii. p 

 387 ; Mr. Karkeek, vol. iv. p. 5 

 Youatt on Goitre in Dogs, vol. v. p 



483 : Youatt in vol. vi. pp. 6%, 348, 

 412 ; M. Bernard, vol. xi. p. 5o9 ; 

 Dr. Samesreuther, on Cattle, in vol. 

 xii. p. 181 ; Percivall, in vol. xiii. p. 

 47. With respect to blindness in 

 horses, see also a w r hole row of 

 authorities in Dr. P. Lucas's great 

 work, torn. i. p. 399. Mr. Baker in 

 'The Veterinary,' vol. xiii. p. 721, 

 gives a strong case of hereditary 

 imperfect vision and of jibbing. 



22 Knight on 'The Culture of the 

 Apple and Pear,' p. 34. Lindley's 

 'Horticulture,' p. 180. 



