246 GENERATION. 



which, have the power of regeneration ; for the lobster which casts his 

 claw, does not produce monsters or double claws. I am not, however, 

 certain of this 1 . 



Monsters hereditary. 



Monsters, or the deviations from the common course, or what may be 

 called the original principles [types], in nature, have in them an here- 

 ditary principle. "We may first observe that animals, not monsters in 

 themselves, shall have the principle of producing monsters. I have seen 

 three ' spinse bifidee ' in the children of one family : in another family only 

 having two children, both these had very large exostoses. I have seen 

 two hair-lips in the children of the same parents. Dr. D. Pitcairn told 

 me that the two tallest men he had probably ever seen were twins. 

 They both came and enlisted themselves at Chatham in the train of 

 artillery. One was six feet seven and odd inches, the other six feet five 

 and odd inches : so far they were similar as to size. I have seen two 

 watermen, twins, both stout men, and so like each other that there was 

 no knowing which was which. Hence it is reasonable to suppose there 

 was a disposition 2 in the parents to beget such. We find, also, that 

 such monsters, once formed, have the principle of propagating their 

 monstrosity. Thus I have seen a lady who had a hair-lip, and had two 

 children born with hair-lips. Lady H. P. was bom with a hair-lip : 

 she had a brother born with the same, but who died when young ; and 

 her first child was born with one. A cow was brought to London for 

 a show, which had a supernumerary leg upon the shoulder, which is a 

 very common monstrosity 3 ; but the curious circumstance was, she had 

 a calf with the same monstrosity. Mr. Hudson, Apothecary in Panton 

 Street, well known in the Botanical world, has a breed of cats without 

 tails. The breed was first discovered in a farm-house in the country. 

 The owners of the farm had forgot how long the tail-less cats had been 

 there. Mr. Hudson has had several families of them, and the last 

 included a variety, some without tails, others with short tails, and others 

 with tails of a common length. It is more than probable that this 

 breed arose from a kitten being brought into the world without any 

 tail 1 . Sir C. C. had but one testicle that had come out of the abdomen, 



1 [The Editor has seen a case of double pincer-claw on one side of a lobster ; the 

 two of that side equalling together in bulk the single normal claw of the opposite 

 side. The antlers of deer offer instances of monstrosities occurring after birth.] 



2 [By ' disposition,' Hunter here signifies the inherent unconscious tendency.] 



3 [Hunt. Preps. Series of Monsters, No. 283.] 



4 [Very likely; but whence that tail-less kitten? In the 'Series of Monsters,' 

 Nos. 308 and 309 show this ' malformation by defect.'] 



