TAKE THE CHANCES. 115 



feel that I can teacli you any thing on this subject, and I 

 reproach myself for venturing to say even what I have. 



President Chadbouene. In my lecture last night, per- 

 haps some of you will remember that I made this statement : 

 that, in my opinion, the germs of life are influenced in many 

 ways that we do not understand ; and that the peculiar influ- 

 ence brought to bear upon the germ at the time when it 

 receives its distinct vital power, that which gives it the power 

 of independent life, is a force that will manifest itself in the 

 whole development of the germ. Now, in the discussions 

 here, and in the experiments that have been referred to in 

 regard to securing the likeness of the sire, I think I have 

 noticed in every case (if there is any exception, I hope some 

 one will mention it), that, where the mare has been put to 

 the same sire twice, the likeness of the sire appeared most 

 strongly in the second case. 



Mr. HuTCHiNSOX. It was exactly the reverse in my case. 



President Chadbouene. What was your case ? 



Mr. HuTCHiNSOX. I put the mare to the same horse two 

 successive years. The first time the foal took after the 

 horse : the second time it took after the mare very decidedly. 



President Chadboubne. I did not hear that; but Mr. 

 Williams gave a case of the other kind. It occurred to me 

 that this ought to be taken into consideration. We know 

 what Professor Agassiz said, and what all breeders recog- 

 nize, — that, the first time a female is covered, the organs of 

 generation are affected by the male in such a way, that the 

 chances are (I should not go nearly so far as some have gone 

 here this morning on this point) ; but I say the chances are, 

 that every young of that female will have some of the char- 

 acteristics of the first male that covered her. That is so well 

 established, that I suppose any man who has a pure-bred 

 heifer or a pure-bred mare would consider it a terrible 

 calamity to have that female covered in the first place by a 

 scrub. He would say, " I never expect to get any thing that 

 is pure from her." 



Now, is it reasonable to suppose that this effect is pro- 

 duced simply by the first covering ? Is it not likely, that, 

 whenever the female is covered, the young will not only par- 

 take of the nature of the sire, but that there is an effect 

 produced upon that female that will last tlu'oughout? I 



