174 THE BREEDING OF ANIMALS 



of mules followed by horse foals. No such evidence could 

 be discovered. The 168 horse offspring from mares 

 which had previously produced from one to thirteen mule 

 foals each, gave no visible evidence of the existence of 

 telegony. The external characters of the mule hybrid 

 and the horse differ so widely in many important partic- 

 ulars that even a slight influence which might come 

 through a previous sire should have been measurable. 



It is true that the evidence is all negative, but it is 

 nevertheless valuable because of the peculiarly favorable, 

 opportunity for the influence of telegony to assert itself. 

 It is also interesting to note in this connection that a 

 belief in the possible influence of a previous impregnation 

 is by no means universal among practical breeders, if 

 we may judge from the statements of farmers in the mule- 

 breeding districts of Missouri. Very few breeders believed 

 in the existence of telegony. Those who admitted their 

 belief in the possibility of infection were unable to cite 

 authentic instances. 



162. Possibility of influence from a previous impregna- 

 tion. If the influence of the male is not confined to 

 his immediate offspring but is extended to the mother 

 in such a way that other progeny by other males may 

 display some of the characters of the former male, then 

 such influence must come about in one of two ways. 

 The body (soma) of the mother herself may be so funda- 

 mentally changed by acquiring the characters of the male 

 that she transmits such influence to her succeeding off- 

 spring sired by other males. The spermatozoa of the 

 male may not only fertilize the fully mature and thus 

 susceptible ovum but may travel through the generative 

 organs of the female and eventually reach the ovaries 

 where the developing and immature eggs might be so 



