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Ewart, J. (James) C. (Cossar) : The Penycuik Experiments

London: Adam and Charles Black, 1899. 1st ed., 1899

8vo. xciii, 177 pp. 46 figs., including many B & W photographs of zebras, zebra-horse crosses. Original zebra skin patterned cloth with gilt titles. Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh from 1882-1927 and a prominent geneticist, Cossar Ewart crossed a zebra stallion with pony mares in order to disprove telegony, a theory which states that if a female mates with more than one male the later offspring will inherit characteristics from the earlier sires. The zebra-horse hybrids were brown with faint stripes. When the same mares were subsequently mated with a pony, the resulting foals showed none of the markings or temperamental characteristics of a zebra. A secondary aim of these experiments was to produce a draught animal for South Africa that was less subject to local diseases and more tractable than a mule. Cossar Ewart writes affectionately about his animals and appreciated their different personalities. The Penycuik Experiments is an important scientific document of pioneering significance in the areas of breeding and genetics. The book has a darkened spine with some wear at the spinal extremities, some slight evidence of bookplate removal from front pastedown else very good plus. The zebra-patterned cloth cover is quite dramatic. Scarce.. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hardcover

1st Edition