The New International Encyclopædia/Telegony

TELEGONY (from Gk. τῆλε, tēle, afar + -γονία, -gonia, generation, from γόνος, gonos, seed, from γίγνεσθαι, gignesthai, to become, to be born). The influence of the first or of a previous sire on the subsequent progeny obtained by other sires. That the first impregnation has a lasting influence has been generally accepted by breeders. Weismann, however, states that the most competent judges in Germany, such as Stettegast, Nathusius, and Kühn, in spite of their extensive experience in breeding and crossing, have never known a case of telegony, and doubt its reality.