APPENDIX. 



171 



regularly disappear as the colts increase in age." Weis- 

 raann refers to other experiments, and adds/' the attempt 

 must be made to determine the truth by new experi- 

 ments." 



^' But as hitherto," Weismanu adds, " there have been 

 no positive results from the ol)sei-vations that have been 

 made ; and as the most competent judges, namely, breeders 

 who have a scientific knowledge, such as Settegast and 

 Nathusius, and the late head of the Prussian Agricultural 

 Station at Halle, Professor Kiihn, spite of their extensive 

 experience in breeding and crossing, have never known a 

 case of telegony, and therefoi'e have great doubts as to its 

 reality, it seems to me that,/ according to scientific prindi^les, 

 only the confirmation of the tradition by methodical investi- 

 yation, in this case hy experiment, conld raise telegony to the 

 ranJc of a fact.' " 



In concluding his observations on telegony,"^ Weismann 

 says : — " Exj)erienced breeders, like Settegast and Kiihn, 

 of Halle, do not believe in it, for though they have crossed 

 various domestic animals they have never obsei'ved an 

 instance of it. . . . If the 'infection^ were proved beyond 

 a doubt, a supplementary fertilisation of an egg-cell in this 

 manner must be considered possible; we certainly might 

 then reasonably ask why mares, cows, or sheep should not 

 occasionally become pregnant without being served a 

 second time. But this has never yet been known to occur, 

 and I incline to Settegast's view, that there is no snch thing 

 as an ' infection ' of this kind, and that all the instances 

 v/hich have been recorded and discussed critically by him 

 are based upon a misconception." 



Thus the case stands at the present day. At the one 

 extreme Ave have Weismann and certain experienced Ger- 

 man breeders; at the other many English breeders so 

 persuaded that telegony is of frequent occurrence that they 

 make a point of always mating their mares, &c., first with 

 a male having a good pedigree, so that their subsequent 



* 'Germ-plasm,' p. 3S5. 



