Abstract
I. Introductory. THE belief in telegony, or what used to be known as the “infection of the germ” or “throwing back” to a previous sire, has long prevailed. It may for all we know be as old as the belief in “mental impressions,” which has had its adherents since at least the time of the patriarchs. During the eighteenth century the “infection” doctrine was frequently discussed by physiologists, and since Lord Morton, in 1820, addressed a letter to the Royal Society on the subject, believers in “infection” have been increasing all over the world, with the result that one seldom now hears of breeders or fanciers who are not influenced by the doctrine, while physicians and others interested in the problems of heredity either as a rule take telegony for granted or see nothing improbable in the “infection” hypothesis.
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Experimental Investigations on Telegony. Nature 60, 330–333 (1899). https://doi.org/10.1038/060330b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/060330b0