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25 proof of the inheritance of acquired characters. The well-known case of the horse and the quagga brought forward by Lord Morton was the first to attract the attention of scientists. Other examples which were supposed to show a similar influence were soon forth-coming and Spencer even quotes cases furnished by the offspring of whites and negroes in America. A question of this sort can only be decided by experiment. Professor Corsar Ewart has for many years conducted a series of experiments on the Equidae and other quadrupeds and birds, with a View of testing this point. His results, which are given in the work already mentioned, have been purely negative. No such thing as telegony has been observed. So the supposed influence of a sire on the progeny produced by the same mother to another sire has yet to be proved.

A somewhat similar phenomenon has been stated to occur in plants. Darwin in his (Vol.1) quotes instances in which the male element has had a direct action on the mother-plant. To this action the name of "Xeia" has been given. It is probable that such action does occur but it is not yet proved that future offspring are affected in any way.

Reflex actions and instincts present many difficulties to those who deny the inheritance of acquired characters. As pointed out by Romanes "it belongs to the very nature of reflex action that it cannot work unless all parts of the machinery concerned are already present and already co-ordinated in the same