520 THE DESCENT OF MAN. 



informs me that lie has known some instances; he cites the case 

 of one of his own deerhounds, who would not talce any notice 

 of a particular female mastiff, so that another deerhound had to be 

 employed. It would be superfluous to give, as I could, other 

 instances, and I will only add that Mr. Barr, who has carefully 

 bred many bloodhounds, states that in almost every Instance 

 particular individuals of opposite sexes show a decided prefer- 

 ence for each other. Finally, Mr. Cupples, after attending to 

 this subject for another year, has written to me, "I have had 

 "full confirmation of my former statement, that dogs in breeding 

 "form decided preferences for each other, being often Influenced 

 "by size, bright color, and individual characters, as well as by 

 "the degree of their previous familiarity." 



In regard to horses, Mr. Blenkiron, the greatest breeder of 

 race-horses in the world, informs me that stallions are so fre- 

 quently capricious in their choice, rejecting one mare and without 

 any apparent cause taking to another, that various artifices have 

 to be habitually used. The famous Monarque, for Instance, would 

 never consciously look at the dam of Gladiateur, and a trick 

 had to be practiced. We can partly see the reason why valuable 

 race-horse stallions, which are in such demand as to be exhausted, 

 should be so particular in their choice. Mr. Blenkiron has never 

 known a mare reject a horse; but this has occurred in Mr. Wright's 

 stable, so that the mare had to be cheated. Prosper Lucas" 

 quotes various statements from French authorities, and remarks, 

 "On volt des etalons qui s'eprennent d'une jument, et negligent 

 "toutes les autres." He gives, on the authority of Baelen, similar 

 facts in regard to bulls; and Mr. H. Reeks assures me that a 

 famous short-horn bull belonging to his father "invariably refused 

 "to be matched with a black cow." Hoffberg, in describing the 

 domesticated reindeer of Lapland says, "Fcsminae majores et for- 

 "tiores mares prse casteris admlttunt, ad eos confugiunt, a juniori- 

 "bus agitatse, qui hos in fugam conjiciunt."*' A clergyman, who 

 has bred many pigs, asserts that sows often reject one boar and 

 immediately accept another. 



From these facts there can be no doubt that, with most of our 

 domesticated quadrupeds, strong individual antipathies and pref- 

 erences are frequently exhibited, and much more commonly by 

 t\e female than by the male. This being the case, it is improb- 

 able that the unions of quadrupeds in a state of nature should 

 be left to mere chance. It is much more probable that the fe- 

 males are allured or excited by particular males, who possess 

 certain characters in a higher degree than other males; but 

 what these characters are, we can seldom or never discover with 

 certainty. 



« 'Traite de I'Hered. Nat." torn, ii, ISoO, p. 296. 

 " 'Amoenitates Acad.' vol. iv. 1788, p. 160. 



