to gain strength by the intermission of a generation, prevailed to a large extent in the second set of seedlings. How it is possible for a character to gain strength by the intermission of a generation, will be considered in the chapter on pangenesis. On the whole, the subject of prepotency is extremely intricate,--from its varying so much in strength, even in regard to the same character, in different animals,--from its running either equally in both sexes, or, as frequently is the case with animals, but not with plants, much stronger in one sex than the other,--from the existence of secondary sexual characters,--from the transmission of certain characters being limited, as we shall immediately see, by sex,--from certain characters not blending together,--and, perhaps, occasionally from the effects of a previous fertilisation on the mother. It is therefore not surprising that no one has hitherto succeeded in drawing up general rules on the subject of prepotency. INHERITANCE AS LIMITED BY SEX. New characters often appear in one sex, and are afterwards transmitted to the same sex, either exclusively or in a much greater degree than to the other. This subject is important, because with animals of many kinds in a state of nature, both high and low in the scale, secondary sexual characters, not directly connected with the organs of reproduction, are conspicuously present. With our domesticated animals, characters of this kind often differ widely from those distinguishing the two sexes of the parent species; and the principle of inheritance, as limited by sex, explains how this is possible.