78 PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. 



covering it in the case of the limbs ; and to the viscera 

 in that of the great cavities which it assists in forming. 

 Accordingly, in perfect accordance with the views 

 above expressed, the general size and form which must 

 be mainly that of the trunk, will be determined by the 

 size and character of the viscera of the chest and abdo- 

 men, and will therefore accord with that of the female 

 parents by whom the viscera in question are chiefly 

 furnished. 



The foregoing are the most important of Mr. Orton's 

 statements. He gives, however, numerous additional 

 illustrations from among beasts, birds and fishes, of 

 which we quote only the following : 



^'The mule and the hinny have been selected and 

 placed first, because they afford the most conclusive 

 evidence and are the most familiar. Equally conclu- 

 sive, though perhaps less striking instances, may be 

 drawn from other sources. Thus, it has been observed 

 that when the Ancon or Otter sheep were allowed to 

 breed with common ewes, the cross is not a medium 

 between the two breeds, but that the offspring retains 

 in a great measure the short and twisted legs of the 

 sire. 



Buffon made a cross between the male goat and the 

 ewe ; the resulting hybrid in all the instances, which 

 were many, were strongly characteristic of the male 



