82 The Third and Fourth Generation 



used to hang a red blanket in the stall of a cow, 

 somje weeks before a calf was expected, as a 

 measure to insure a solid red color in the off- 

 spring, as that was very desirable in certain 

 breeds. Such a performance is quite useless. 

 Jacob believed in accordance with the prevalent 

 notion of his day that he increased the number 

 of streaked and spotted cattle by a similar pro- 

 cess, but the facts related (see Gen., chap. 30) 

 are quite as well explicable on the assump- 

 tion that Laban's herds and flocks were hybrid 

 stock. Birthmarks are sometimes thought to 

 result from something the mother sees or longs 

 for during the prenatal life of the child. 

 Undoubtedly they are not so produced, and the 

 resemblance of a birthmark to some object seen 

 or desired is all a matter of chance. Hundreds 

 of mothers go through similar experiences 

 without the child exhibiting any birthmark. 

 Indeed it is quite impossible to conceive how 

 any effect could be produced on the develop- 

 ing child, for there is no nerve connection 

 and no direct blood flow between mother and 

 baby. 



