HYBRIDISM 49 



MucTi stress has been laid by some authors on the 

 supposed fact, that it is only with mongrels that the 

 offspring are not intermediate in character, but closely 

 resemble one of their parents; but this does sometimes 

 occur with hybrids, yet I grant much less frequently 

 than with mongrels. Looking to the cases which I have 

 collected of cross-bred animals closely resembling one 

 parent, the resemblances seem chiefly confined to char- 

 acters almost monstrous in their nature, and which have 

 suddenly appeared — such as albinism, melanism, defi- 

 ciency of tail or horns, or additional fingers and toes; 

 and do not relate to characters which have been slowly 

 acquired through selection. A tendency to sudden re- 

 versions to the perfect character of either parent would, 

 also, be much more likely to occur with mongrels, which 

 are descended from varieties often suddenly produced and. 

 semi-monstrous in character, than with hybrids, which 

 are descended from species slowly and naturally pro- 

 duced. 



On the whole, I entirely agree with Dr. Prosper 

 Lucas, who, after arranging an enormous body of facts 

 with respect to animals, comes to the conclusion that the 

 laws of resemblance of the child to its parents are the 

 same, whether the two parents differ little or much from 

 each other, namely, in the union of individuals of the 

 same variety, or of different varieties, or of distinct 

 species. 



Independently of the question of fertility and sterility, 

 in all other respects there seems to be a general and 

 close similarity in the offspring of crossed species, and 

 of crossed varieties. If we look at species as having 

 been specially created, and at varieties as having been 



