INFLUENCE OF A PREVIOUS IMPREGNATION. 265 



The same influence has been observed in the hu- 

 man family. " A woman may have, by a second hus- 

 band, children who resemble a former husband, and 

 this is particularly well marked in certain instances 

 by the color of the hair and eyes. 



"A white woman, who has had children by a 

 negro, may subsequently bear children to a white 

 man, these children presenting some of the unmis- 

 takable peculiarities of the negro race." 1 



Several theories have been advanced to explain 

 the manner in which this peculiar influence has been 

 transmitted. 



As the first cases that attracted the attention of 

 physiologists were observed among mammals, it was 

 supposed that the mother was impressed with the 

 paternal characteristics of the foetus during its intra- 

 uterine existence. 



In his remarks on this subject, Dr. Carpenter 

 says : " Some of these cases appear referable to the 

 strong mental impression left by the first male parent 

 upon the female ; but there are others which seem to 

 render it more likely that the blood of the female has 

 imbibed from that of the foetus, through the placental 

 circulation, some of the attributes which the latter has 



1 " Physiology of Man," by Flint, vol. v., p. 347. See also " Human 

 Physiology," by Carpenter, p. 970 ; " Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and 

 Physiology," vol. iv., pp. 1341-1365 ; Journal of the Royal Agricultu- 

 ral Society, vol. xvi., p. 23 ; British and Foreign Medico- Chirurgical 

 Review, July, 1863, p. 183. Additional references are made by Dar- 

 win to cases of this kind of influence that I have not an opportunity to 

 consult, as follows : Broun, in his " Geschichte du Natur," 1843, B. 11, 

 S. 127; and Martin's "History of the Dog," 1845, p. 104; "Animals 

 and Plants under Domestication," vol. i., p. 485, note. 



