Since the occurrence of this case numerous others of a similar character have been observed, a few of which may be mentioned. Mr. McGillivray says, that in several foals in the royal stud at Hampton Court, got by the horse "Actæon," there were unmistakable marks of the horse "Colonel." The dams of these foals were bred from by Colonel the previous year.
A colt, the property of the Earl of Suffield, got by "Laurel," so resembled another horse, "Camel," that it was whispered and even asserted at Newmarket that he must have been got by "Camel." It was ascertained, however, that the mother of the colt bore a foal the previous year by "Camel."
Alex. Morrison, Esq., of Bognie, had a fine Clydesdale mare which in 1843 was served by a Spanish ass and produced a mule. She afterwards had a colt by a horse, which bore a very marked likeness to a mule—seen at a distance, every one sets it down at once as a mule. The ears are nine and one-half inches long,—the girth not quite six feet, stands above sixteen hands high. The hoofs are so long and narrow that there is a difficulty in shoeing them, and the tail is thin and scanty. He is a beast of indomitable energy and durability, and highly prized by his owner.
Numerous similar cases are on record,[6] and it appears to have been known among the Arabs for centuries, that a mare which has first borne a mule, is ever after unfit to breed pure horses;[7] and the fact seems now to be perfectly well understood in all the mule-breeding States of the Union.
A pure Aberdeenshire heifer, the property of a farmer in Forgue, was served with a pure Teeswater bull to which she had a first cross calf. The following season the same cow was served with a pure Aberdeenshire bull, the produce was in appearance a cross-bred calf, which at two years old had long horns; the parents were both hornless.
A small flock of ewes, belonging to Dr. W. Wells in the island of Grenada, were served by a ram procured for the purpose;—the ewes were all white and woolly; the ram was quite different,—of a chocolate color, and hairy like a goat. The progeny were of course crosses but bore a strong resemblance to the male parent. The next season, Dr. Wells obtained a ram of precisely the same breed as the ewes, but the progeny showed distinct marks of resemblance to the former ram, in color and covering. The same thing occurred on neighboring estates under like circumstances.
Six very superior pure-bred black-faced horned ewes, belonging to Mr. H. Shaw of Leochel-Cushnie, were served by a Leicester ram, (white-faced and hornless.) The lambs were crosses. The next year they were served by a ram of exactly the same breed as the ewes themselves. To Mr. Shaw's astonishment the lambs were without an exception hornless and brownish in the face, instead of being black and horned. The third year (1846) they were again served by a superior ram of their own breed, and again the lambs were mongrels, but showed less of the Leicester characteristics than before. Mr. Shaw at last parted from these fine ewes without obtaining a single pure-bred lamb.[8]
"It has been noticed that a well bred bitch, if she have been impregnated by a mongrel dog, will not although lined subsequently by a pure dog, bear thorough-bred puppies in the next two or three litters."[9]
The like occurrence has been noticed in respect of the sow. "A sow of the black and white breed became pregnant by a boar of the wild breed of a deep chestnut color. The pigs produced were duly mixed, the color of the boar being in some very predominant. The sow being afterwards put to a boar of the same breed as herself, some of the produce were still stained or marked with the chestnut color which prevailed in the first litter and the same occurred after a third impregnation, the boar being then of the same kind as herself. What adds to the force of this case is that in the course of many years' observation the breed in question was never known to produce progeny having the slightest tinge of chestnut color."[10]
The above are a few of the many instances on record tending to show the influence of a first impregnation upon subsequent progeny by other males. Not a few might also be given showing that the same rule holds in the human species, of which a single one will suffice here:—"A young woman residing in Edinburgh, and born of white parents, but whose mother previous to her marriage bore a mulatto child by a negro man servant, exhibits distinct traces of the negro. Dr. Simpson, whose patient at one time, the young woman was, recollects being struck with the resemblance, and noticed particularly that the hair had the qualities characteristic of the negro."