90 



HORSES. 



througli good specimens, the greater the probability that 

 the expectations of the breeder will not be disappointed. 

 It is now in proof, says J. S. Skinner, " that this Morgan 

 breed is descended from a horse that was stolen from 

 Gen. de Lancey, importer of Wildair, and there is every 

 reason to believe that though he may not have been 

 thorough-bred, he is well steeped in the best blood of 

 the Anglo-American turf horse." 



That " like will beget like" is commonly admitted to 

 be true, but if the male and female parents are very 

 unlike each other, the offspring would probably be unlike 

 either. It is admitted that the chances that the good^ 

 and the danger that the bad qualities of an ancestor, 

 will be inherited by any descendant, will depend upon 

 the number of degrees he is removed from that ancestor, 

 unless his ancestors of the opposite sex have exhibited 

 the same qualities. "When the ancestors upon both 

 sides for several generations have been alike in all their 

 important features, then " like will beget like," though 

 there will still be great variety in the degrees of excel- 

 lence even then. Prof Cline of London, as quoted by 

 Skinner, says, " When the male is much larger than the 

 female parent, the offspring is generally of an imperfect 

 form. The proper method of improving the form of 

 animals consists in selecting a well-formed female, pro- 

 portionably larger than the male. The improvement 

 depends upon this principle ; that the power of the 

 female to supply her offspring with nourishment is in 

 proportion to her size, and to the power of nourishing 

 herself from the excellence of her own constitution. 

 The size of the foetus is generally in proportion to that 

 of the male parent, and therefore when the female parent 



