EMBRYOLOGY, IMPREGNATION, CONCEPTION. 45 



Then agaiii it has been believed by some, mar- 

 velous thougii it may appear, that the spermatic 

 fluid of the horse could be transported long dis- 

 tances under almost any conditions and still re- 

 tain its life-transmitting properties. In fact a 

 shameless charlatan once went so far as to ad- 

 vertise a container in which the fluid might be 

 sent through the mails, thus taking advantage 

 of a ridiculous credulity born of ignorance. Just 

 how long the spermatozoa will live under the 

 most favoring conditions is not yet determined, 

 but it is no great length of time. 



Another idea which popularly prevails is that 

 startling impressions received by a mare at the 

 time of service may have an effect on the color 

 and even conformation of the progeny. Not so 

 long ago a man asked me how he might paint 

 out the blaze face of his horse so that the mares 

 might not see the white mark, and so have no 

 ^^ badly marked foals." On various occasions 

 1 have seen men swiftly wheel their mares 

 around after service so that they might gaze 

 upon the stallion's bald face and so insure foals 

 similarly marked. Color at least may be re- 

 moved from the list of those things which accrue 

 from impressions received at the time of serv- 

 ice; and it should not be forgotten, moreover, 

 that impregnation can not take place at the mo- 

 ment of copulation. 



Then there is the everlasting '^double cover.'' 

 It will not down. Many men insist that the 



