122 INTRODUCTION TO SEXUAL PHYSIOLOGY 



who must be supposed to transmit characteristics which she liad 

 acquired either from her former mate or from their joint offspring 

 in the uterus. 



" Saturation " is tlu^ name given to tlie supposed process 

 whereby the dam becomes permanently affected by the ova of a 

 particular sire, so that the oft'spring come to resemble that sire 

 more and more witli successive pregnancies. It is merely a 

 description of the cumulative effect of telegonic influence and as 

 a statement of fact is equally devoid of foundation. 



Tlie view that a male animal may be infected by a female 

 with which he mates, although not very uncommon among 

 breeders, is even less defensible tlian the belief in telegony. 



Xenia 



The term " Xenia," which means " guest-gifts," was applied 

 by Focke to cases of plants in which the male pollen was supposed 

 to affect the ovarian tissue (the seed's substance or the fruit) 

 rather than the embryo itself. The word has also been applied 

 to birds where the colour of the egg laid is said to have been 

 influenced by the cock. Thus canaries, crossed by siskins, linnets, 

 or goldfinclies, have been described as having the colour of their 

 egg-sliells modified by, and in some sense inherited from, the 

 male which fertilised them. It is, however, extremely dubious 

 as to wlu'tlier the phenomcMia of Xenia have any real basis. 



Maternal Impressions 



The po])ulnr belief that mental impressions received by tlie 

 mother at the time of conception or during pregnancy are trans- 

 ferred to the child as physical peculiarities is devoid of scientific 

 foundation. Nevertheless, it is a very persistent one, and there 

 are imumierable instances of its su])posed occurrence, both among 

 man and among animals. Thus an injury or physical impression 

 suddenly produced by contact and accompanied by fright is 

 supposed to result in a birthmark on the child in the position 

 of the injury to the mother ; a woman alarmed by an idiot is 

 said to have given birth to a mentally defective chikl, or a woman 

 chased by a black man to have ])roduced a child who was partly 

 coloured. A common way of giving effect to the belief among 

 breeders of animals has been to paint buildings or fences a 



