HOW THE TROTTING HORSE IS BRED. 469 



the distinguished son of Green's 'Bashaw. The fact that horses 

 of this color and marking are to be found in all parts of the 

 globe, has led many thoughtful writers to the conclusion that 

 these characteristics are among the very earliest in the history of 

 the horse. To bring this instance to a close, I must say: 



1. Beyond the color alone of the sire and dam of this colt and 

 filly, there is no evidence whatever that they might not have 

 inherited, by ordinary generation, the color and markings from 

 some of their ancestors. 



2. The miscegenous breeding of the ass upon the mare has. 

 been practiced, we know, for more than three thousand years, 

 and yet in all that time, and down to our own day and experiences, 

 there has been no established indication that the first impregna- 

 tion of the filly by the ass had any influence whatever upon her 

 subsequent produce by the horse. 



This theory of the first impregnation having an influence on 

 all subsequent produce is probably more generally maintained 

 among dog fanciers than any other class of breeders. In some 

 instances when a valuable maiden . bitch gets astray she is. 

 banished from the kennel and either destroyed or given away. 

 For this foolish notion some antique authority might be cited. 

 Burdach, a French writer on physiology, says: 



"If a bitcb be once put to a dog of anotber race, every litter of puppies 

 afterward will include one belonging to that other breed, except tbe first time 

 sbe be put only to dogs of her own breed." 



This is a kind. of pseudo science that is only calculated to mis- 

 lead, for the vital facts are omitted. What was the pedigree of 

 the bitch? She may have looked like a well-bred pointer and a 

 high price may have been paid for her, but her sire may have 

 been a mongrel, or, possibly, a miserable cur. No dog breeder 

 or dog dealer has ever been known to drown the results of a 

 mesalliance if it was a fairly good-looking puppy. It goes into 

 the records as a thoroughbred and finds a market. When a dog 

 and a bitch, seeming to be well-bred and costing a high price, 

 bring into the world a litter of puppies showing a mixed inherit- 

 ance, the fancier at once jumps to the conclusion that there i& 

 something mysterious about it, and as he has heard of the evil 

 results of first impregnations, he thinks he has discovered the 

 source of the trouble and straightway this is another example 

 resulting from first impregnation. He then goes back on the 



