Mr Heape, Notes on the Proportion of the Sexes in Dogs. 143 
Sir Everett Millais, whose finely bred strain of this breed was 
well known. Bloodhounds, again, have a high proportion of dog 
pups and they are for the most part highly bred in this country. 
For the rest, Bulldogs, Retrievers, Scotch, Skye, Irish, and 
English White Terriers, I have no certain information. Taken 
as a whole, however, the animals treated of in the Schedules are 
probably more finely bred than those recorded in the Kennel 
Register , and the proportion of dog pups in the former is con- 
siderably greater than in the latter ; thus, such evidence as I 
have is in favour of the view that in-breeding tends to the 
production of an increased proportion of males. 
In the Schedules submitted to breeders information was asked 
about feeding and the condition of individual bitches, at the 
breeding time and during gestation, in order to attempt to 
discover whether “ condition ” at the time of conception showed 
any marked effect on the proportion of the sexes born. The 
descriptions given were usually “ good ” or “ very fair,” &c. ; no 
detailed information was supplied, and nothing was shown which 
could in any way be interpreted as affecting the proportion of the 
sexes born. 
The length of gestation was also recorded for 278 litters. 
This detail was asked for to check the opinion very generally 
held by breeders of stock, that when the period of gestation is 
prolonged beyond the normal time the produce are generally of 
the male sex. 
I have divided the period of gestation into three divisions, 
making allowance for errors of calculation, which I have assumed 
are but small on the side of short gestation and mostly due to 
retarded fertilisation of the ovum after impregnation, thus: 
(1) a short gestation period, from 53 to 61 days; in which 
there are 69 litters recorded with an average of 117 82 dogs; 
(2) a normal gestation period, from 62 to 65 days; in which 
there are 194 litters with an average of 130'98 dogs, and 
(3) a long gestation period, from 66 to 69 days ; in which 
there are 15 litters giving an average of 140‘48 dogs. 
On the whole the results undoubtedly bear out the popular 
opinion, the totals for each division showing a gradual increase 
of male births as the period of gestation is prolonged. 
In the latter division the litters recorded are few and the 
individual results very various, but in the first division this is 
not so and yet there is a marked difference in the proportion of 
dog pups between the first and second divisions. 
In these returns it is remarkable that Bloodhounds are repre- 
sented under almost every day both of the short and long periods 
of gestation. Altogether, no less than 11 litters of Bloodhounds 
out of a total of 22 recorded, that is 50 were produced outside 
the normal period. 
