ON ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION. 247 



thus artificially procreated would not re- 

 semble the sire, or be so strong as those 

 begotten by the natural process ; but this, 

 of course, has proved groundless, the off- 

 spring being necessarily and obviously the 

 natural j)roduce of the sire in the one case 

 as in the other, while it also appears fully 

 as robust. 



Also there is what is called the " biennial " 

 argument to be considered. This is based on 

 the assumption that, if a mare breeds only 

 once in two years, she thi'ows a colt superior 

 to what she Avould be able to produce if 

 prolific every year. This sounds reasonable 

 enough, and it is undoubtedly the case that 

 animals (such as the dog), which can produce 

 twice in the year, may become exhaiisted 

 with such rapid production, and should there- 

 fore be discouraged in the exercise of such 

 fecundity. But this does not seem to be 

 the case with a slow-breeding mammal like 

 the mare. There is, at any rate, no re- 



