362 ON THE HEREDITARY INSTINCTIVE PROPENSITIES OF ANIMALS. 



any floating body off a pond, and I do not think that it had ever done 

 this more than three or four times. It walked very quietly behind my 

 gamekeeper upon the opposite side of the river, and it looked on with 

 apparent indifference whilst I killed a couple of mallards and a widgeon ; 

 but it leaped into the river instantly upon the gamekeeper pointing out 

 the birds to it ; and it brought them on shore, and to the feet of the 

 gamekeeper, just as well as the best-inducted old dog could have done. 

 I subsequently shot a snipe, which fell into the middle of a large nearly 

 stagnant pool of water, which was partially frozen over. I called the dog 

 from the other side of the river, and caused it to see the snipe, which 

 could not be done without difficulty ; but as soon as it saw it, it swam to 

 it, brought it to me, laid it down at my feet, and again swam through the 

 river to my gamekeeper. I never saw a dog of any age acquit itself so 

 well, yet it was most certainly wholly untaught. I state the circum- 

 stances with reluctance, and not without hesitation ; because I doubt 

 whether I could myself believe them to be well founded, upon any other 

 evidence than that of my own senses : the statement is nevertheless most 

 perfectly correct. 



I could add an account of a great many more experiments and obser- 

 vations which were made with other varieties of dogs, and upon other 

 species of animals ; but as all the facts which I have noticed are confir- 

 mations of the truth of the conclusions which I have drawn from those 

 above stated, I shall state the result of one other experiment only, and 

 that solely because it tends to establish a fact which appears to me to be 

 of a good deal of importance. 



I stated in a communication to this Society many years ago, " Upon 

 the comparative influence of the male and of the female parent upon 

 the offspring of some species of animals," that in cases where nature 

 intended the offspring to accompany its parent in flight at an early age, 

 the influence of the parent of one sex upon the form of the offspring 

 differed very widely from that of the other parent ; and that when the 

 female parents were of small size and of a small breed, and of permanent 

 habits, and the male of a large size and large breed, and of permanent 

 habits, the length of the legs of the foetus was given by those of the 

 family of the female parent. I imported some Norwegian pony mares 

 with the intention of obtaining cross-bred animals between them and the 

 London dray-horse ; having satisfied myself that the experiment might be 

 made without danger or injury to the smaller animal. The bodies and 

 shoulders of the cross-bred animals which I have obtained are excessively 



