82 PRINCIPLES OF STOCK-BREEDING. 



counterpart, in dominant characters, of either parent 

 or of any ancestor ; but, on the other hand, we have 

 no reason to believe that any characters will appear 

 that have not been derived by direct or interrupted 

 descent from some ancestor. 



When speaking of the resemblance of offspring to 

 ancestors, in a popular sense, the dominant characters 

 are alone referred to ; but, as these, as has been shown, 

 may constitute but a small proportion of the elements 

 of the organization, a strict comparison of resemblances 

 must include a wider range of characteristics. 



In this connection, the importance of a full record 

 of the pedigrees of breeding animals will be readily 

 suggested, as a means of tracing the history of ances- 

 tors, for the purpose of determining the characters 

 that are liable to be transmitted by atavic descent. 

 As the subject of pedigree, however, involves a num- 

 ber of questions that have not as yet been examined, 

 a full, consideration of its practical bearings must be, 

 for the present, omitted. 



