The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1876-05-06
The Hsatm.
HEREDITY.

We find the following very interest
ing remarks on this much-discussed
question just now, in the =" Fanciers'
Journal" contributed by Jas. s. Bailey,
A. NJ, NJ. H.:
The principles of heredty are now
so plainly established that they are
brought to the test by every day prac-
lice. 1t has been truthfully asserted
that the skiIlful breeder is able to
mould his stock in any direction, and to
realize almost any idea of desirable
physiological character
Hereditary instincts are unconscious
" obeyed by animals. Eggs of the
wild fowls, Of the turkey and grouse.
when hatched under domestic fowls,
the young obey the instinct of hereditv
and wander away, unless secured. The
writer once observed a quail emerging
from the nest with half the she'll still
clinging to its back. Dwellings, when
hatched under the domestic hen, obey
the instincts of heredity and take to
the water, Notwithstanding the solicit
tude Of their ioster-mother.
The young from eggs of wild birds
when hatched and reared in domestica-
ton. when liberated, build their nests
precisely as did their parents before
Them. We notice the squirrel Gagged
when young, attempt, when Winter APP
proachcs, to lay up stores as did its
parents. This application was forcihIy
impressed upon the writer's mind from
the circumstances Of mother gray
squirrel being shot in proximity to his
residence. The pitcous cutlery Of her
young when hungered, attracted atten-
ton. and they were secured before their
ewes were open and then reared by
hand. To bis knowledge they never
saw other squirrels; but still the hered-
itarv instincts were followed in care
fully storing away their surplus food
for Winter.
The different breeds of dogs eXem-
plifv the hereditary instincts. We see
the ra,-terrier clubbing in the earth in
search of vermin; the unframed pointer
often points when first taken to the
field the shepherd dog shows dispo-
stion to guard stock; and the first in
stincts of hounds are to trail, which
verifes the old saying that q good
hound is bred So
Knight took pointer pups in the field
unaccompanied by old dogs; yet one
stood trembling with anxiety, with his
muscles strained and his eyes fixed at
partridge.
The heredity of instinct admits of no
exceptions, while in unacquired habits
there are many Knight also relates
an instance of spaniel whose ances-
tors had been trained to woodcock
shooting, who acted like an old dog
avoiding places where the soil was
frozen, as in such places there is no
scent
These instincts are habits fixed by
hereditv. All spiders construct webs,
vet each variety constructs its web
peculiar to itself The dog not only
nherits scent, but also that which en-
ables him to know definite kind of
game Certain races of Indians also
inherit scent, and SO do negroes. The
writer while patroling in the south, in
the time of slavery. calls to mind a
family of negroes who inherited this
faculty in a remarkable degree. No
matter how stealthiy white person
approached their cabin at night, their
conversation would Immediately be
hushed, and they would discover our
approach by their scent. This pecu-
liaritv had often been noted by their
overseers.
Left-handedness is observable in every
community Giron mentions family
in which the father, children, and most
of the grandchildren were left-handed
The heredity of vision has already
been referred to- In England, at the
University of Oxford, thirty-two in
every one hundred and twenty-seven
were myopic. In Germany, DR.. Colin
found among the school children ten
per cent of them myopic, and this
heredity only perpetuates short-sighted-
ness. Blindness frequently runs in
families: blind beggar was the father
Of four sons and daughter, all blind.
Dutau mentions cases OF tWentv-one
congenital blind persons, whose ances-
tors-fathers, mothers, grandparents
and ncles-had affections of the eyes.
Daltonism, or color-blindness, is also
inherited. Sedgwick mentions eight
families, akin to each other who were
so affected, which lasted through five
generations, and embraced seventv-one
individuals.
Deafness is hereditary, and when it
is congenital there is no speech Deaf
and dumb institutions show conclusive
ly that heredity has its influence. In
London, at one time, one hundred and
iorty-eight inmates were in one asylum
There was one in W hose family were
five deaf mutes another four In the
families of eleven pupils there were
three each; in the families of nineteen
two each-which verties the saw
Nature gives good ear