Chap. XII. INHERITANCE. 455 



legs, roaring or broken and thick wind, melanosis, specific 

 ophthalmia, and blindness (the great French veterinary Huzard 

 going so far as to say that a blind race could soon be formed), 

 crib-biting, jibbing and ill-temper, are all plainly hereditary. 

 Youatt sums up by saying " there is scarcely a malady to 

 which the horse is subject which is not hereditarj^ ;" and M. 

 Bernard adds that the doctrine " that there is scarcely a 

 disease which does not run in the stock, is gaining new 

 advocates every day." ^^ So it is in regard to cattle, with 

 consumption, good and bad teeth, fine skin, &c. &c. But 

 enough, and more than enough, has been said on disease. 

 Andrew Knight, from his own experience, asserts that disease 

 is hereditary with plants ; and this assertion is endorsed b} 

 Lindley.22 



Seeing how hereditary evil qualities are, it is fortunate 

 that good health, vigour, and longevity are equally inherited. 

 It was formerly a well-known practice, when annuities were 

 purchased to be received during the life-time of a nominee, to 

 search out a person belonging to a family of which many 

 members had lived to extreme old age. As to the inheritance 

 of vigour and endurance, the English race-horse offers an ex- 

 cellent instance. Eclipse begot 334, and King Herod 497 

 winners. A " cock-tail " is a horse not purely bred, but with 

 only one-eighth, or one-sixteenth impure blood in his veins, 

 yet very few instances have ever occurred of such horses 

 having won a great race. They are sometimes as fleet for 

 short distances as thoroughbreds, but as Mr, Kobson, the 



=' These various statements are 483 : Youatt in vol. vi. pp. 66, 348, 



taken from the following works and 412 ; M. Bernard, vol. xi. p. 539 ; 



papers :— Youatt on ' The Horse,' pp. Dr. Samesreuther, on Cattle, in vol. 



35, 220. Lawrence, 'The Horse,' p. xii. p. 181; Percivall, in vol. xiii. p. 



30. Karkeek, in an excellent paper 47. With respect to blindness in 



in ' Gavd. Chronicle,' 1853, p. 92. horses, cee also a whole row of 



Mr. Burke, in ' Journal of R. Agricul. authorities in Dr. P. Lucas's great 



Soc. of England,' vol. v. p. 611. work, tom. i. p. 399. Mr. Baker ia 



' Encvclop. of Rural Sports, p. 279. ' The Veterinary,' vol. xiii. p. 721, 



Girou de Buzareignues, ' Philosoph. gives a strong case of hereditary 



Phys.,' p. 215. See following papers imperfect vision and of jibbing, 

 in ' The Veterinary ;' Roberts, in vol. '" Knight on ' The Culture of th« 



ii. p. 144 ; M. Marrimpoey, vol. ij. p. Apple and Pear,' p. 34. Lindley'f 



387 ; Mr. Karkeek, vol. iv. p. 5 ; ' Horticulture,' p. 180. 

 Youatt on Goitre m Dogs, vol. v. p. 



