t88 THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 



Now these statements, though correct in a general sense, need 

 some qualification. The ears of the mule are not so long as its 

 sire's in proportion to the body, the feet are not so narrow, the tail 

 and mane are not so scantily supplied with hair. In all the points 

 of greatest resemblance to the ass, there is still some resemblance 

 to the other parent, the mare. In other words, the mule does not 

 take any part of its conformation from either parent alone; but 

 every part is like both parents in some degree. The same remarks 

 apply to the hinny. Its mane, tail, ears, and feet are more like a 

 horse's than a mule's are, but not exactly like a horse's. In every 

 part of its body it has some resemblance to the ass, its dam. The 

 point established is this : — That the mule find the hinny both take 

 their outward form and appearance from their respective sires more 

 than from their dams ; but neither of them is exactly like either 

 parent in any respect. 



These facts are constant when the two species are bred together, 

 and the produce is a hybrid ; and we might infer that some cer- 

 tainty was attainable in the same direction when animals of the 

 same species are bred together, as in breeding horses. That is, we 

 might expect the colt to always inherit its ears, mane, tail, and 

 feet more from the horse than from the mare. The rule may apply 

 to some extent, but it is not to be relied on with' anything like the 

 certainty that is observed in breeding the horse and ass together. 

 Eat-tailed stallions beget rat-tailed colts, and hoof-bound mares 

 have colts inheriting the same tendency to disease of the feet. 



Every part of every offspring partakes of the quality of both 

 parents in some degree ; and in the present state of our knowledge, 

 we can neither control nor foresee the amount of any particular 

 quality that the offspring will inherit from either parent. 



In a family of children, one may be tall like the father, and have 

 black hair like the mother ; another may be short like the mother, 

 with light hair like the father; and a third may have stature and 

 complexion that partake more evenly of the qualities of both 

 parents. If three more children are to be born to the same 

 parents, no physiologist can predict their stature nor the color of 

 their hair. If parents are much alike in all respects, the children 

 will be much alike ; but the children of the same family will be 

 much diversified in appearance and character if their parents are 

 much different from each other in these respects. If parents are 

 alike in any particular, though different in all other respects, their 

 children will all inherit that quality strongly which comes from 

 both parents, and will transmit it to the next generation with 

 greater certainty than if they had inherited it from only one parent. 

 Of course these rules may all have exceptions; atavism, or breeding 

 back, may modify the results. 



