Wilson — The Inheritance of Coat Colour in Horses. 



335 



Shires in that their colours are not usually stated till they are beyond foal 

 age, and thus some possible errors are avoided. 



In dealing with Thoroughbreds a number of the more important sires was 

 selected, and the colours of the dams with which they were mated and of 

 the foals produced noted down. It was hoped that in this way the gametic 

 composition of the sires might be ascertained and assistance gained there- 

 from. One drawback was that, wliile there were plenty of chestnut, bay, and 

 brown sires, only two grey sires (Grrey Friars and Grrey Leg) and one black 

 (Desmond) liaving a fairly large number of foals in the latest volumes 

 could be found. Another drawback was the large number of stock entered 

 as "bay or brown" and "brown or black." These doubtful colours were 

 omitted, although it was found necessary to consider them afterwards. The 

 following are the figures got in this way from vols. xix. and xx. of the 

 Thoroughbred stud-book : — 



MaTINGS in vols. XIX. AND X.X. OF THE THOROUGHBRED StUD-BOOK. 



These figures are, if anything, more confusing than those got from Shires 

 and Clydesdales ; but a very pertinent discovery was made during the course 

 of their compilation. It became apparent that the only black sire of the lot, 

 Desmond, was breeding in a very peculiar manner for a black. It was 

 against all experience that a sire should reproduce his own colour only three 

 times in thirty-seven. Besides, the colours of his foals suggested that he was 

 not a black at all, but a brown. Desmond stands in Ireland, and several 

 gentlemen likely to know him maintained, when appealed to, that he was a 

 brown. When the question was put to one of these, " Is Desmond a black or 

 a brown ? " he replied, " He is brown : he has a tan muzzle." Finally his 

 owner's Lord Dunraven's secretary wrote " Desmond is a brown horse." 

 Desmond was entered " brown or black " as a foal, but this designation was 

 subsequently changed to black. 



