250 SEXUAL SELECTION : MAMMALS. [Pari II. 



ounces, and at the age of six weeks by nearly fourteen 

 ounces. Mr. Wright, of Yeldersley House, in a letter to 

 Mr. Cupples, says : " I have taken notes on the sizes and 

 weights of puppies of many litters, and, as far as my ex- 

 perience goes, dog-puppies as a rule differ very little from 

 bitches till they arrive at about five or six months old ; 

 and then the dogs begin to increase, gaining upon the 

 bitches both in weight and size. At birth, and for sev- 

 eral weeks afterward, a bitch-puppy will occasionally be 

 larger than any of the dogs, but they are invariably 

 beaten by them later." ' Mr. McNeill, of Colinsay, con- 

 cludes that " the males do not attain their full growth till 

 over two years old, though the females attain it sooner." 

 According to Mr. Cupples's experience, male dogs go on 

 growing in stature till they are from twelve to eighteen 

 months old, and in weight till from eighteen to twenty- 

 four months old ; while the females cease increasing in 

 stature at the age of from nine to fourteen or fifteen 

 months, and in weight at the agre of from twelve to fifteen 

 months. From these various statements it is clear that 

 the full difference in size between the male and female 

 Scotch deer-hound is not acquired until rather late in life. 

 The males are almost exclusively used for coursing, for, as 

 Mr. McNeill informs me, the females have not sufficient 

 strength and weight to pull down a full-grown deer. 

 From the names used in old legends, it appears, as I hear 

 from Mr. Cupples, that at a very ancient period the males 

 were the most celebrated, the females being mentioned 

 only as the mothers of famous dogs. Hence, during 

 many generations, it is the male which has been chiefly 

 tested for strength, size, speed, courage, and the best will 

 have been bred from. As, however, the males do not 

 attain their full dimensions until a rather late period in 

 life, they will have tended, in accordance with the law 

 often indicated, to transmit their characters to their male 



