In making reciprocal crosses between pouter and fantail pigeons, the pouter-race seemed to be prepotent through both sexes over the fantail. But this is probably due to weak power in the fantail rather than to any unusually strong power in the pouter, for I have observed that barbs also preponderated over fantails. This weakness of transmission in the fantail, though the breed is an ancient one, is said[144] to be general; but I have observed one exception to the rule, namely, in a cross between a fantail and laugher. The most curious instance known to me of weak power in both sexes is in the trumpeter pigeon. This breed has been well known for at least 130 years: it breeds perfectly true, as I have been assured by those who have long kept many birds: it is characterised by a peculiar tuft of feathers over the beak, by a crest on the head, by a most peculiar coo quite unlike that of any other breed, and by much-feathered feet. I have crossed both sexes with turbits of two sub-breeds, with almond tumblers, spots, and runts, and reared many mongrels and recrossed them; and though the crest on the head and feathered feet were inherited (as is generally the case with most breeds), I have never seen a vestige of the tuft over the beak or heard the peculiar coo. Boitard and Corbié[145] assert that this is the invariable result of crossing trumpeters with any other breed: Neumeister,[146] however, states that in Germany mongrels have been obtained, though very rarely, which were furnished with the tuft and would trumpet: but a pair of these mongrels with a tuft, which I imported, never trumpeted. Mr. Brent states[147] that the crossed offspring of a trumpeter were crossed { 67} with trumpeters for three generations, by which time the mongrels had 7-8ths of this blood in their veins, yet the tuft over the beak did not appear. At the fourth generation the tuft appeared, but the birds, though now having 15-16ths trumpeter's blood, still did not trumpet. This case well shows the wide difference between inheritance and prepotency; for here we have a well-established old race which transmits it characters faithfully, but which, when crossed with any other race, has the feeblest power of transmitting its two chief characteristic qualities.