SEX BEHAVIOR OF THE POITOU JACKS 299 



vidual weaknesses and predilections of their animals. It is 

 notorious that many of the finest jacks are the most capricious. 

 When every other means have failed, a young jack is placed 

 near the mare, during which time his elder but less ardent 

 brother is firmly held at a distance. This stratagem causes 

 the latter to exhibit the greatest fury and jealousy, and gen- 

 erally results in his amorous passions being aroused to the 

 required extent. Nor does the mare, notwithstanding she has 

 small chance of showing her objections, always, lend her willing 

 co-operation to the misalliance with the jack. This necessitates 

 the services of the teaser being requisitioned, after which the 

 mare is blindfolded and a jack is substituted for the stallion. 

 However, the jack breeders know their animals so well that 

 very little time is lost." 



These observations seem to me to bring out very clearly the 

 following points of technical psychological interest: 



i. A remarkable keenness of the sense of sex-recognition in 

 the jack. 



2. A large psychological element, which has certainly some 

 points of resemblance to similar elements in human sex beha- 

 vior, 1 in the sexual activity of the jack. 



3. Evidence of association in the sex behavior of the jack, 

 which would appear to be of significance in a genetic study of 

 the origin of sex fetichism. 



Biological Laboratory, Maine Agricultural Experiment Station 



1 Cf. Havelock Ellis. The Psychology of Sex. (Philadelphia) Passim. 



