172 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 
for there was no other way, and in that sense they came by them ; 
but the responsibility may, as we now know, lie far back of the 
immediate parent. Of all this we have abundant illustrations in 
both the plant and animal world. In mixed breeding, under 
Mendel’s law, we have seen already how long a character may 
linger and how easily it may outcrop even generations later. 
Reversions and the law of ancestral heredity teach us the same 
truth, namely, that all races have an exceedingly mixed ancestry, 
partly desirable and partly undesirable, and that all races have 
more characters than can be fully developed in any individual 
or under any single set of conditions. 
The dog, our most faithful friend, is, after all, a descendant 
of the wild wolves of the forest, and he still possesses some of 
the ancient instinct to trail, to hunt, and to kill. In many cases, 
under unfavorable conditions, this wild instinct gets the better of 
him and he becomes a dangerous animal. The breeding of bull- 
dogs for ferocity is attended with great danger, because this 
particular trait is so closely in line with the old-time instincts 
of the savage ancestors. The only protection of the horse is 
flight, and we all know by experience that some individuals are 
by nature so timid that under unfavorable conditions they will 
run away and are ever after unreliable. 
Many individuals of our own race are unfortunately ‘ born 
short’; that is, with the better characters weak and those of 
savagery relatively strong. Such men are almost certain to be 
dangerous even under the best conditions. Unfortunately, too, 
many who are better born have yet enough of the barbarous to 
develop under unfavorable conditions and make them, too, dan- 
gerous, when under good conditions they would have been 
harmless. It is highly desirable that the best conditions pos- 
sible be maintained, not only to prevent as many as may be 
from going wrong, but also to help us to know and to sort out 
the real degenerate, who is bound to go wrong anyhow. Again, 
and aside from all this, nobody knows exactly what his own 
ancestry is, — just what traits of character are waiting only for 
