same family. Indeed, it is sometimes to be remarked in this kind of
variation, that the variety belongs, strictly speaking, to neither of
the immediate parents; you will see a child in a family who is not like
either its father or its mother; but some old person who knew its
grandfather or grandmother, or, it may be, an uncle, or, perhaps, even
a more distant relative, will see a great similarity between the child
and one of these. In this way it constantly happens that the
characteristic of some previous member of the family comes out and is
reproduced and recognised in the most unexpected manner.

But apart from that matter of general experience, there are some cases
which put that curious mixture in a very clear light. You are aware
that the offspring of the Ass and the Horse, or rather of the he-Ass
and the Mare, is what is called a Mule; and, on the other hand, the
offspring of the Stallion and the she-Ass is what is called a 'Hinny'.
I never saw one myself; but they have been very carefully studied. Now,
the curious thing is this, that although you have the same elements in
the experiment in each case, the offspring is entirely different in
character, according as the male influence comes from the Ass or the
Horse. Where the Ass is the male, as in the case of the Mule, you find
that the head is like that of the Ass, that the ears are long, the tail
is tufted at the end, the feet are small, and the voice is an
unmistakable bray; these are all points of similarity to the Ass; but,
on the other hand, the barrel of the body and the cut of the neck are
much more like those of the Mare. Then, if you look at the Hinny,--the
result of the union of the Stallion and the she-Ass, then you find it is
the Horse that has the predominance; that the head is more like that of
the Horse, the ears are shorter, the legs coarser, and the type is
altogether altered; while the voice, instead of being a bray, is the
ordinary neigh of the Horse. Here, you see, is a most curious thing: