APPENDIX. 169 



the germ-cells — i.e. lie believes in what might be called 

 the indirect "infection ot" the gei'ni/' 



Romanes, in giving the main results of a lengthened 

 inquiry on this subject, writes as follows : * — " The inves- 

 tigations have been pursued on three different lines : (1) 

 I raised discussions on the subject in the principal breeders' 

 and fanciers"' journals of this country and also of America. 

 (2) I entered into private correspondence with contributors 

 of the largest experience, and also with professional and 

 amateur breeders, fanciers, &c., who addressed me directly 

 on the subject. (3) I started experiments with the varieties 

 which these inquiries indicated as most likely to yield 

 positive results. At present nothing need be said with 

 i-egard to these experiments, because they are not saffi- 

 <3iently matured ; but it is desirable to state the general 

 upshot of the correspondence. 



"The principal result is to show that the phenomenon 

 is of much less frequent occurrence than is generally 

 supposed. Indeed, it is so rare that I doubt whether it 

 takes place in more than one or two per cent, of cases. I 

 must add, however, that nearly all my professional corre- 

 spondents would deem this an absurdly low estimate. It has 

 hitherto puzzled me Avhy the phenomenon in question, since 

 it does certainly occur in some cases, should occur so rarely. 

 But I think that Mr. Spencer's suggestion on this point is 

 a valuable one. This suggestion is that when the first sire 

 is of a relatively stable and also of a mai'kedly different 

 ancestral stock from the dam, there will be most likelihood 

 of his impressing his ancestral characters on the progeny 

 of the second sire." 



While Romanes evidently believes in the possibility of 

 telegony, he is far from accepting Spencer's explanation 

 of the phenomenon. He adopts the simpler explanation 

 that the unused germ-plasm from the first sire directly 

 infects — gains access to — the unripe ova. In holding this 

 view, Romanes seems to be in agreement with Darwin, who 

 apparently believed that the male element acts directly on 

 * 'An Exaniination of Weismamiisni,' 1893, Appendix i\. 



