1892.] Elliot. Fuheritinirc of Acijnircd Characters. Q^ 



knowing the effect of a shot, springs forward, barking, to seek 

 for game when the gun is discharged. Weismann endeavors* to 

 explain this by saying that the dog has not inherited from his fore- 

 fathers a certain association of ideas, — shot and game, — but rather 

 he has inherited a reflex mechanism which impels him to start for- 

 ward on hearing a report, and that it is not the eftbcts of training, 

 but some piedisposition on the part of the germ, which has been 

 increased by artificial selection. But this reasoning, even if capa- 

 ble of proof, which of course it is not, would not explain the fact 

 of a puppy suddenly coming to a stand and remaining motionless 

 in an uncomfortable attitude in the same manner as was the habit 

 of its parent, unless this character of the breed so displayed had 

 been transmitted by its parent. The first pointer undoubtedly pos- 

 sessed the instinct, or inherited the habit of hunting. It is not 

 to be imagined it also possessed the trait of stopping and remain- 

 ing stationary when it had found the object it sought, for that 

 would have enabled the game to escape, but this additional trait 

 was added by man to utilize and make more efficient its other 

 powers, and assist him in obtaining game, and this habit so ac- 

 quired by the dog was transmitted to its offspring, and continued 

 by succeeding generations. If this had not been so, each off- 

 spring of every parent would have been obliged to acquire the 

 same habit in the same way independently. Prof. Eimerf 

 cites instances of pointer puppies belonging to him, which had 

 never l)een ti^ained, and never had seen a Partridge, "•pointing a 

 covey perfectly correctly, standing motionless with head out- 

 stretched, fore paw lifted, and tail stiflfl}' erected." These, he says, 

 "are thorough-bred pointers which require no training at all, 

 but have completely inherited the habits to which their ancestors 

 were educated." He also cites an instance of a Wildbode?ihund^ 

 a dog "used to drive game towards the sportsman by barking." 

 It was about two weeks old when he obtained it, and as soon as 

 it grew up, although it was never taken out shooting, began to 

 drive game on its own account, and in spite of punishment, ex- 

 tended its operations every day. Another instance of acquired 

 characters being transmitted is that of a pure-blooded female 

 pointer or setter which had produced offspring by mating 



*Essays, p. 94. 



tOrganic Evolution, pp. 168, 169. 



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