240 BREEDING 



nation by the quagga had in some way or other imbued the system of the 

 mare from which these two foals were bred, with the power to impress 

 upon her subsequent offspring by other sires the characters which dis- 

 tinguished her first mate, the quagga. 



However inviting such a conclusion may be, the fact, as mentioned by 

 Darwin, must not be overlooked that " in all parts of the world, stripes of 

 a dark colour frequently appear along the spine, across the legs, and on the 

 shoulders occasionally, where they are double or treble, and even sometimes 

 on the face and body, of all breeds of horses and of all colours". Notwith- 

 standing this, Darwin was satisfied that in the case of Lord Morton's 

 experiment " the quagga had affected the character of the offspring sub- 

 sequently got by the black Arabian horse". 



The evidence which that distinguished observer, Mr. Herbert Spencer, 

 was able to procure, satisfied him of the truth of the influence of the male 

 on the progeny subsequently borne by the mother to other males, and he 

 suggests that this remarkable phenomenon is the result of the ova in the 

 ovaries becoming infected with germ-plasm through her tissues. 



From experiment and other sources of information, Mr. Romanes was 

 equally satisfied that a previous sire "asserted his influence in a subsequent 

 progeny ", but he was of the opinion that instances of the kind were of rare 

 occurrence. 



Mr. Allison, who writes for the Sjiortsman under the norm de plume 

 of the "Special Commissioner", avers that it would "not be difficult to 

 furnish hundreds or even thousands of instances" of the occurrence. 

 Whether the cases referred to by Mr. Allison would bear that searching 

 method of enquiry which science demands before deciding upon so delicate 

 and obscure a question, there is no evidence to show. Some breeders of 

 horses, dogs, and other animals claim to have experienced the effects of 

 telegony in their studs and kennels, but it is doubtful if their knowledge 

 of the possible influence of reversion and other cognate subjects was suffi- 

 ciently extensive to permit of their forming a reliable judgment. 



In this connection Professor Ewart points out that while many English 

 breeders have been it may be over-credulous, not a few German breeders 

 have long looked with sus^oiciou on the infection theoiy. " Professor 

 Kuhn (late head of the Prussian Agricultural station at Halle), Settegast, 

 Nathusius, and others familiar with scientific methods, notwithstanding an 

 extensive experience in breeding and crossing, have never known a case of 

 telegony. Hence it would appear that while some doubt its ever occurring, 

 others are convinced there is no such thing as telegony, that the female is 

 neither infected by the first male, nor by subsequent mates to which she 

 bears offspring." 



