70 PRINCIPLES OF STOCK-BREEDING. 



served by the Princess bull, Earl of Seaham (8077 

 "American Herd-Book"), a good roan, and each 

 dropped a bull-calf ; but the one from Lady Mary 

 seventh was a red, while the other, from Lady Mary 

 eighth, was white." l 



The late Hon. Charles Rich, of Lapeer, who, when 

 a young man, had charge of the merino sheep that 

 formed the foundation of what is known as the " Eich 

 family of Merinoes," informed me that tan-colored 

 ears was a common characteristic of the Spanish me- 

 rino sheep at that time, and that it was highly prized 

 as an indication of the " blood." Dr. Randall says : 

 " These spots were highly characteristic of several of 

 the families of merinoes originally imported from 

 Spain, and the lambs of some of them were occasion- 

 ally covered over the carcass at birth with larger spots 

 of the same color, or of a deeper tawny-red. Some- 

 times the whole body was thus colored. But all of 

 these tints disappeared on the body when the wool 

 grew out, and were seen no more." a 



These tan-colored spots on the ears and face, and 

 also on the body, are now frequently seen in flocks in 

 which white ears have been the prevailing character- 

 istic for many generations, the original peculiarities of 

 the breed being transmitted by atavism. 



The "dark noses," so frequently seen in short- 

 horns, are but a repetition of ancestral characteristics 

 by atavic descent. 



The following case of atavic transmission of an 

 abnormal peculiarity is reported by Mr. Sedgwick, on 



1 " The Country Gentleman," 1876, p. 105. 

 8 " The Practical Shepherd," p. 72, note. 



