TELEGONY AND REVERSION. 



141 



particular resemble the pure ones."* Mulatto's hybrid 

 Romulus might hence have been the image of his gaudily- 

 painted sire Matopo. It is even conceivable Romulus 

 might have closely resembled his almost jet-black dam. 



When hybrids or cross-bred offspring are identical or 

 nearly identical with the first sire, the " infected " sub- 

 sequent offspring (telegony being taken for granted) might 

 also resemble the first sire. I say might advisedly, because 



Fig. 40. 



Mulatto. 



if the second sire happened to be distinctly inbred, or for 

 some other reason extremely prepotent, the influence of 

 the dam, phis the influence of the first sire, might be com- 

 pletely overcome, with the result that the subsequent 

 progeny would very closely resemble the second sire. 



It thus appears that the further the telegony problem is 



* From a letter by the Rev. John Gillespie, LL.D., president of the 

 Highland and Agricultural Society, the Field, January 1st, 1898. 



