1 68 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 



it has been tested on a large scale, as in the color of dogs, theory 

 is found to be true to the facts. 



This series of fractions, therefore, may be taken as a good 

 statement of the law of ancestral heredity, or the probable re- 

 semblances between successive generations of the same family 

 line, whether the line be of pure or of mixed breeding. Of 

 course, as has been observed, if the line be extremely well 

 selected and closely bred, then all resemblances will be close, 

 and it may even look as if the resemblance to the immediate 

 parents is absolute ; but this is only because the near and the 

 remote ancestors are alike, and a little study of species in general 

 will convince the student that the natural proportions are as 

 stated, which series also represents the relative degree of rela- 

 tionship and intensities as can be represented by no other series 

 of fractions that could be arranged. 



Chance of resembling a particular individual ancestor. This 

 series of fractions refers to generations, not to individual an- 

 cestors. Each must be divided by the number of individuals of 

 that generation in order to get the chance of the offspring 

 resembling any particular ancestor, say, the paternal grand- 

 mother. The following table gives in condensed form this series 

 of fractions, thus apportioned among the individual ancestors. 



Effective Heritage contributed by Each Generation and 



by Each Separate Ancestor according to the 



Law of Ancestral Heredity 



From this we see that an individual five generations back stands 

 but one chance in over a thousand of impressing a character 



