When two commingled breeds exist at first in nearly equal numbers, the whole will sooner or later become intimately blended, but not so soon, both breeds being equally favoured in all respects, as might have been expected. The following calculation (15/5. White 'Regular Gradation in Man' page 146.) shows that this is the case: if a colony with an equal number of black and white men were founded, and we assume that they marry indiscriminately, are equally prolific, and that one in thirty annually dies and is born; then "in 65 years the number of blacks, whites, and mulattoes would be equal. In 91 years the whites would be 1-10th, the blacks 1-10th, and the mulattoes, or people of intermediate degrees of colour, 8-10ths of the whole number. In three centuries not 1-100th part of the whites would exist."
When one of two mingled races exceed the other greatly in number, the latter will soon be wholly, or almost wholly, absorbed and lost. (15/6. Dr. W.F. Edwards in his 'Caracteres Physiolog. des Races Humaines' page 24 first called attention to this subject, and ably discussed it.) Thus European pigs and dogs have been largely introduced in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, and the native races have been absorbed and lost in the course of about fifty or sixty years (15/7. Rev. D. Tyerman and Bennett 'Journal of Voyages' 1821-1829 volume 1 page 300.); but the imported races no doubt were favoured. Rats may be considered as semi-domesticated animals. Some snake-rats (Mus alexandrinus) escaped in the Zoological Gardens of London "and for a long time afterwards the keepers frequently caught cross-bred rats, at first half-breds, afterwards with less of the character of the snake-rat, till at length all traces of it disappeared." (15/8. Mr. S.J. Salter 'Journal Linn. Soc.' volume 6 1862 page 71.) On the other hand, in some parts of London, especially near the docks, where fresh rats are frequently imported, an endless variety of intermediate forms may be found between the brown, black, and snake rat, which are all three usually ranked as distinct species.
How many generations are necessary for one species or race to absorb another by repeated crosses has often been discussed (15/9. Sturm 'Ueber Racen, etc.' 1825 s. 107. Bronn 'Geschichte der Natur' b. 2 s. 170 gives a table of the proportions of blood after successive crosses. Dr. P. Lucas 'L'Heredite Nat.' tome 2 page 308.); and the requisite number has probably been much exaggerated. Some writers have maintained that a dozen or score, or even more generations, are necessary; but this in itself is improbable, for in the tenth generation there would be only 1-1024th part of foreign blood in the offspring. Gartner found (15/10. 'Bastarderzeugung' s. 463, 470.), that with plants, one species could be made to absorb another in from three to five generations, and he believes that this could always be effected in from six to seven generations. In one instance, however, Kolreuter (15/11. 'Nova Acta Petrop.' 1794 page 393: see also previous volume.) speaks of the offspring of Mirabilis vulgaris, crossed during eight successive generations by M. longiflora, as resembling this latter species so closely, that the most scrupulous observer could detect "vix aliquam notabilem differentiam" or, as he says, he succeeded, "ad plenariam fere transmutationem." But this expression shows that the act of absorption was not even then absolutely complete, though these crossed plants contained only the 1-256th part of M. vulgaris. The conclusions of such accurate observers as Gartner and Kolreuter are of far higher worth than those made without scientific aim by breeders. The most precise account which I have met with is given by Stonehenge (15/12. 'The Dog' 1867 pages 179-184.) and is illustrated by photographs. Mr. Hanley crossed a greyhound bitch with a bulldog; the offspring in each succeeding generation being recrossed with first-rate greyhounds. As Stonehenge remarks, it might naturally be supposed that it would take several crosses to get rid of the heavy form of the bulldog; but Hysterics, the gr-gr-granddaughter of a bulldog, showed no trace whatever of this breed in external form.