Chapter XXVIII: Concluding Remarks (2)

When a well-marked breed has once been established, if not supplanted by still improving sub-breeds, and if not exposed to greatly changed conditions of life, inducing further variability or reversion to long-lost characters, it may apparently last for an enormous period. We may infer that this is the case from the high antiquity of certain races; but some caution is necessary on this head, for the same variation may appear independently after long intervals of time, or in distant places. We may safely assume that this has occurred with the turnspit-dog which is figured on the ancient Egyptian monuments, with the solid-hoofed swine[938] mentioned by Aristotle, with five-toed fowls {429} described by Columella, and certainly with the nectarine. The dogs represented on the Egyptian monuments, about 2000 B.C., show us that some of the chief breeds then existed, but it is extremely doubtful whether any are identically the same with our present breeds. A great mastiff sculptured on an Assyrian tomb, 640 B.C., is said to be the same with the dog still imported into the same region from Thibet. The true greyhound existed during the Roman classical period. Coming down to a later period, we have seen that, though most of the chief breeds of the pigeon existed between two and three centuries ago, they have not all retained to the present day exactly the same character; but this has occurred in certain cases in which improvement was not desired, for instance in the case of the Spot or the Indian ground-tumbler.

De Candolle[939] has fully discussed the antiquity of various races of plants; he states that the black-seeded poppy was known in the time of Homer, the white-seeded sesamum by the ancient Egyptians, and almonds with sweet and bitter kernels by the Hebrews; but it does not seem improbable that some of these varieties may have been lost and reappeared. One variety of barley and apparently one of wheat, both of which were cultivated at an immensely remote period by the Lake-inhabitants of Switzerland, still exist. It is said[940] that "specimens of a small variety of gourd which is still common in the market of Lima were exhumed from an ancient cemetery in Peru." De Candolle remarks that, in the books and drawings of the sixteenth century, the principal races of the cabbage, turnip, and gourd can be recognised; this might have been expected at so late a period, but whether any of these plants are absolutely identical with our present sub-varieties is not certain. It is, however, said that the Brussels sprout, a variety which in some places is liable to degeneration, has remained genuine for more than four centuries in the district where it is believed to have originated.[941]

* * * * *

In accordance with the views maintained by me in this work and elsewhere, not only the various domestic races, but the {430} most distinct genera and orders within the same great class,--for instance, whales, mice, birds, and fishes--are all the descendants of one common progenitor, and we must admit that the whole vast amount of difference between these forms of life has primarily arisen from simple variability. To consider the subject under this point of view is enough to strike one dumb with amazement. But our amazement ought to be lessened when we reflect that beings, almost infinite in number, during an almost infinite lapse of time, have often had their whole organisation rendered in some degree plastic, and that each slight modification of structure which was in any way beneficial under excessively complex conditions of life, will have been preserved, whilst each which was in any way injurious will have been rigorously destroyed. And the long-continued accumulation of beneficial variations will infallibly lead to structures as diversified, as beautifully adapted for various purposes, and as excellently co-ordinated, as we see in the animals and plants all around us. Hence I have spoken of selection as the paramount power, whether applied by man to the formation of domestic breeds, or by nature to the production of species. I may recur to the metaphor given in a former chapter: if an architect were to rear a noble and commodious edifice, without the use of cut stone, by selecting from the fragments at the base of a precipice wedge-formed stones for his arches, elongated stones for his lintels, and flat stones for his roof, we should admire his skill and regard him as the paramount power. Now, the fragments of stone, though indispensable to the architect, bear to the edifice built by him the same relation which the fluctuating variations of each organic being bear to the varied and admirable structures ultimately acquired by its modified descendants.

Some authors have declared that natural selection explains nothing, unless the precise cause of each slight individual difference be made clear. Now, if it were explained to a savage utterly ignorant of the art of building, how the edifice had been raised stone upon stone, and why wedge-formed fragments were used for the arches, flat stones for the roof, &c.; and if the use of each part and of the whole building were pointed out, it would be unreasonable if he declared that nothing had been {431} made clear to him, because the precise cause of the shape of each fragment could not be given. But this is a nearly parallel case with the objection that selection explains nothing, because we know not the cause of each individual difference in the structure of each being.

The shape of the fragments of stone at the base of our precipice may be called accidental, but this is not strictly correct; for the shape of each depends on a long sequence of events, all obeying natural laws; on the nature of the rock, on the lines of deposition or cleavage, on the form of the mountain which depends on its upheaval and subsequent denudation, and lastly on the storm or earthquake which threw down the fragments. But in regard to the use to which the fragments may be put, their shape may be strictly said to be accidental. And here we are led to face a great difficulty, in alluding to which I am aware that I am travelling beyond my proper province. An omniscient Creator must have foreseen every consequence which results from the laws imposed by Him. But can it be reasonably maintained that the Creator intentionally ordered, if we use the words in any ordinary sense, that certain fragments of rock should assume certain shapes so that the builder might erect his edifice? If the various laws which have determined the shape of each fragment were not predetermined for the builder's sake, can it with any greater probability be maintained that He specially ordained for the sake of the breeder each of the innumerable variations in our domestic animals and plants;--many of these variations being of no service to man, and not beneficial, far more often injurious, to the creatures themselves? Did He ordain that the crop and tail-feathers of the pigeon should vary in order that the fancier might make his grotesque pouter and fantail breeds? Did He cause the frame and mental qualities of the dog to vary in order that a breed might be formed of indomitable ferocity, with jaws fitted to pin down the bull for man's brutal sport? But if we give up the principle in one case,--if we do not admit that the variations of the primeval dog were intentionally guided in order that the greyhound, for instance, that perfect image of symmetry and vigour, might be formed,--no shadow of reason can be assigned for the belief that variations, alike in nature and the result {432} of the same general laws, which have been the groundwork through natural selection of the formation of the most perfectly adapted animals in the world, man included, were intentionally and specially guided. However much we may wish it, we can hardly follow Professor Asa Gray in his belief "that variation has been led along certain beneficial lines," like a stream "along definite and useful lines of irrigation." If we assume that each particular variation was from the beginning of all time preordained, the plasticity of organisation, which leads to many injurious deviations of structure, as well as that redundant power of reproduction which inevitably leads to a struggle for existence, and, as a consequence, to the natural selection or survival of the fittest, must appear to us superfluous laws of nature. On the other hand, an omnipotent and omniscient Creator ordains everything and foresees everything. Thus we are brought face to face with a difficulty as insoluble as is that of free will and predestination.

* * * * *

{433}

INDEX.

ABBAS Pacha, a fancier of fantailed pigeons, i. 206.
ABBEY, Mr., on grafting, ii. 147;
on mignonette, ii. 237.
ABBOTT, Mr. Keith, on the Persian tumbler pigeon, i. 150.
ABBREVIATION of the facial bones, i. 73.
ABORTION of organs, ii. 315-318, 397.
ABSORPTION of minority in crossed races, ii. 87-89, 174.
ACCLIMATISATION, ii. 305-315;
of maize, i. 322.
ACERBI, on the fertility of domestic animals in Lapland, ii. 112.
_Achatinella_, ii. 53.
_Achillea millefolium_, bud variation in, i. 408.
_Aconitum napellus_, roots of, innocuous in cold climates, ii. 274.
_Acorus calamus_, sterility of, ii. 170.
ACOSTA, on fowls in South America at its discovery, i. 237.
_Acropera_, number of seeds in, ii. 379.
ADAM, Mr., origin of _Cytisus Adami_, i. 390.
ADAM, W., on consanguineous marriages, ii. 123.
ADAMS, Mr., on hereditary diseases, ii. 7.
ADVANCEMENT in scale of organisation, i. 8.
_Ægilops triticoides_, observations of Fabre and Godron on, i. 313;
increasing fertility of hybrids of, with wheat, ii. 110.
_Æsculus flava_ and _rubicunda_, i. 392.
_Æsculus pavia_, tendency of, to become double, ii. 168.
_Æthusa cynapium_, ii. 337.
AFFINITY, sexual elective, ii. 180.
AFRICA, white bull from, i. 91;
feral cattle in, i. 85;
food-plants of savages of, i. 307-309;
South, diversity of breeds of cattle in, i. 80;
West, change in fleece of sheep in, i. 98.
_Agave vivipara_, seeding of, in poor soil, ii. 169.
AGE, changes in trees, dependent on, i. 387.
AGOUTI, fertility of, in captivity, ii. 152.
AGRICULTURE, antiquity of, ii. 243.
_Agrostis_, seeds of, used as food, i. 309.
AGUARA, i. 26.
AINSWORTH, Mr., on the change in the hair of animals at Angora, ii. 278.
AKBAR Khan, his fondness for pigeons, i. 205; ii. 204.
_Alauda arvensis_, ii. 154.
ALBIN, on "Golden Hamburgh" fowls, i. 247;
figure of the hook-billed duck, i. 277.
ALBINISM, i. 111, ii. 17.
ALBINO, negro, attacked by insects, ii. 229.
ALBINOES, heredity of, ii. 9.
ALBINUS, thickness of the epidermis on the palms of the hands in man, ii.
297.
ALCO, i. 31, ii. 102.
ALDROVANDI, on rabbits, i. 104;
description of the nun pigeon, i. 156;
on the fondness of the Dutch for pigeons in the seventeenth century, i.
205;
notice of several varieties of pigeons, i. 207-210;
on the breeds of fowls, i. 247;
on the origin of the domestic duck, i. 278.
ALEFIELD, Dr., on the varieties of peas and their specific unity, i. 326;
on the varieties of beans, i. 330.
ALEXANDER the Great, his selection of Indian cattle, ii. 202.
ALGÆ, retrogressive metamorphosis in, ii. 361;
division of zoospores of, ii. 378.
ALLEN, W., on feral fowls, i. 237; ii. 33.
ALLMAN, Professor, on a monstrous _Saxifraga geum_, ii. 166;
on the development of the Hydroida, ii. 368.
ALMOND, i. 337;
antiquity of, ii. 429;
bitter, not eaten by mice, ii. 232.
_Alnus glutinosa_ and _incana_, hybrids of, ii. 130.
ALPACA, selection of, ii. 208.
_Althæa rosea_, i. 378, ii. 107.
_Amaryllis_, ii. 139.
_Amaryllis vittata_, effect of foreign pollen on, i. 400.
AMAUROSIS, hereditary, ii. 9.
AMERICA, limits within which no useful plants have been furnished by, i.
310;
colours of feral horses in, i. 60-61;
North, native cultivated plants of, i. 312;
skin of feral pig from, i. 77;
South, variations in cattle of, i. 88, 92.
_Amygdalus persica_, i. 336-344, 374.
{434}
AMMON, on the persistency of colour in horses, ii. 21.
_Anagallis arvensis_, ii. 190.
ANALOGOUS variation, i. 409, ii. 348-352;
in horses, i. 55;
in the horse and ass, i. 64;
in fowls, i. 243-246.
_Anas boschas_, i. 277, ii. 40;
skull of, figured, i. 282.
_Anas moschata_, ii. 40.
"ANCON" sheep of Massachusetts, i. 100, ii. 103.
ANDALUSIAN fowls, i. 227.
ANDALUSIAN rabbits, i. 105.
ANDERSON, J., on the origin of British sheep, i. 94;
on the selection of qualities in cattle, ii. 196;
on a one-eared breed of rabbits, i. 108;
on the inheritance of characters from a one-eared rabbit and
three-legged bitch, ii. 12;
on the persistency of varieties of peas, i. 329;
on the production of early peas by selection, ii. 201;
on the varieties of the potato, i. 330-331;
on crossing varieties of the melon, i. 399;
on reversion in the barberry, i. 384.
ANDERSON, Mr., on the reproduction of the weeping ash by seed, ii. 19;
on the cultivation of the tree pæony in China, ii. 205.
ANDERSSON, Mr., on the Damara, Bechuana, and Namaqua cattle, i. 88;
on the cows of the Damaras, ii. 300;
selection practised by the Damaras and Namaquas, ii. 207;
on the use of grass-seeds and the roots of reeds as food in South
Africa, i. 309.
_Anemone coronaria_, doubled by selection, ii. 200.
ANGINA pectoris, hereditary, occurring at a certain age, ii. 79.
ANGLESEA, cattle of, i. 80.
ANGOLA sheep, i. 95.
ANGORA, change in hair of animals at, ii. 278;
cats of, i. 45, 47;
rabbits of, i. 106, 120.
ANIMALS, domestication of, facilitated by fearlessness of man, i. 20;
refusal of wild, to breed in captivity, ii. 149;
compound, individual peculiarities of, reproduced by budding, i. 374;
variation by selection in useful qualities of, ii. 220.
ANNUAL plants, rarity of bud-variation in, i. 408.
ANOMALIES in the osteology of the horse, i. 50.
ANOMALOUS breeds of pigs, i. 75;
of cattle, i. 89.
_Anser albifrons_, characters of, reproduced in domestic geese, i. 288.
_Anser ægyptiacus_, i. 282; ii. 68.
_Anser canadensis_, ii. 157.
_Anser cygnoides_, i. 237.
_Anser ferus_, the original of the domestic goose, i. 287;
fertility of cross of, with domestic goose, i. 288.
ANSON, on feral fowls in the Ladrones, i. 238.
ANTAGONISM between growth and reproduction, ii. 384.
_Anthemis nobilis_, bud-variation in flowers of, i. 379;
becomes single in poor soil, ii. 167.
ANTHEROZOIDS, apparent independence of, in algæ, ii. 384.
ANTHERS, contabescence of, ii. 165-166.
ANTIGUA, cats of, i. 46;
changed fleece of sheep in, i. 98.
_Antirrhinum majus_, peloric, i. 365; ii. 59, 70, 166;
double-flowered, ii. 167;
bud-variation in, i. 381.
ANTS, individual recognition of, ii. 251.
APES, anthropomorphous, ii. 123.
APHIDES, attacking pear-trees, ii. 231;
development of, ii. 361-362.
APOPLEXY, hereditary, occurring at a certain age, ii. 78.
APPLE, i. 348-350;
fruit of, in Swiss lake-dwellings, i. 317;
rendered fastigate by heat in India, i. 361;
bud-variation in the, i. 376;
with dimidiate fruit, i. 392-393;
with two kinds of fruit on the same branch, i. 392;
artificial fecundation of, i. 401;
St. Valéry, i. 401; ii. 166;
reversion in seedlings of, ii. 31;
crossing of varieties of, ii. 129;
growth of the, in Ceylon, ii. 277;
Winter Majetin, not attacked by _coccus_, ii. 231;
flower-buds of, attacked by bullfinches, ii. 232;
American, change of when grown in England, ii. 275.
APRICOT, i. 344-345;
glands on the leaves of, ii. 231;
analogous variation in the, ii. 348.
_Aquila fusca_, copulating in captivity, ii. 154.
_Aquilegia vulgaris_, i. 365; ii. 330.
ARAB boarhound, described by Harcourt, i. 17.
_Arabis blepharophylla_ and _A. Soyeri,_ effects of crossing, i. 400.
_Aralia trifoliata_, bud-variation in leaves of, i. 382.
ARAUCARIAS, young, variable resistance of, to frost, ii. 309.
ARCHANGEL pigeon, ii. 240.
ARCTIC regions, variability of plants and shells of, ii. 256.
_Aria vestita_, grafted on thorns, i. 387.
ARISTOPHANES, fowls mentioned by, i. 246.
ARISTOTLE, on solid-hoofed pigs, i. 75;
domestic duck unknown to, i. 277;
on the assumption of male characters by old hens, ii. 51.
{435}
ARNI, domestication of the, i. 82.
ARREST of development, ii. 315-318.
ARTERIES, increase of anastomosing branches of, when tied, ii. 230.
ARU islands, wild pig of, i. 67.
ARUM, Polynesian varieties of, ii. 256.
_Ascaris_, number of eggs of, ii. 379.
ASH, varieties of the, i. 360;
weeping, i. 361;
simple-leaved, i. 362;
bud-variation in, i. 382;
effects of graft upon the stock in the, i. 394;
production of the blotched Breadalbane, _ibid._;
weeping, capricious reproduction of, by seed, ii. 19.
_Asinus Burchellii_, i. 64.
_Asinus hemionus_, ii. 43.
_Asinus indicus_, ii. 42-43, 48.
_Asinus quagga_, i. 64.
_Asinus tæniopus_, ii. 41;
the original of the domestic ass, i. 62.
ASPARAGUS, increased fertility of cultivated, ii. 113.
ASS, early domestication of the, i. 62;
breeds of, _ibid._;
small size of, in India, _ibid._;
stripes of, i. 62-63; ii. 351;
dislike of to cross water, i. 181;
reversion in, ii. 41-43, 47;
hybrid of the, with mare and zebra, ii. 42;
prepotency of the, over the horse, ii. 67-68;
crossed with wild ass, ii. 206;
variation and selection of the, ii. 236.
ASSYRIAN sculpture of a mastiff, i. 17.
ASTERS, ii. 20, 316.
ASTHMA, hereditary, ii. 8, 79.
ATAVISM. _See_ Reversion.
ATHELSTAN, his care of horses, ii. 203.
ATKINSON, Mr., on the sterility of the Tarroo silk-moth in confinement,
ii. 157.
AUBERGINE, ii. 91.
AUDUBON, on feral hybrid ducks, i. 190; ii. 46;
on the domestication of wild ducks on the Mississippi, i. 278;
on the wild cock turkey visiting domestic hens, i. 292;
fertility of _Fringilla ciris_ in captivity, ii. 154;
fertility of _Columba migratoria_ and _leucocephala_ in captivity, ii.
155;
breeding of _Anser canadensis_ in captivity, ii. 157.
AUDUBON and Bachman, on the change of coat in _Ovis montana_, i. 99;
sterility of _Sciurus cinerea_ in confinement, ii. 152.
AURICULA, effect of seasonal conditions on the, ii. 273;
blooming of, ii. 346.
AUSTRALIA, no generally useful plants derived from, i. 310;
useful plants of, enumerated by Hooker, i. 311.
AUSTRIA, heredity of character in emperors of, ii. 65.
AUTENRIETH, on persistency of colour in horses, ii. 21.
AVA, horses of, i. 53.
_Avena fatua_, cultivability of, i. 313.
AYEEN Akbery, pigeons mentioned in the, i. 150, 155, 185, 205, 207, 208.
AYRES, W. P., on bud-variation in pelargoniums, i. 378.
_Azalea indica_, bud-variation in, i. 377.
AZARA, on the feral dogs of La Plata, i. 27;
on the crossing of domestic with wild cats in Paraguay, i. 45;
on hornlike processes in horses, i. 50;
on curled hair in horses, i. 54; ii. 205, 325;
on the colours of feral horses, i. 60, 61; ii. 259;
on the cattle of Paraguay and La Plata, i. 82, 86, 89; ii. 250;
on a hornless bull, ii. 205;
on the increase of cattle in South America, ii. 119;
on the growth of horns in the hornless cattle of Corrientes, ii. 39;
on the "Niata" cattle, i. 90;
on naked quadrupeds, ii. 279;
on a race of black-skinned fowls in South America, i. 258; ii. 209;
on a variety of maize, i. 321.

BABINGTON, C. C., on the origin of the plum, i. 345;
British species of the genus _Rosa_, i. 366;
distinctness of _Viola lutea_ and _tricolor_, i. 368.
BACHMANN, Mr., on the turkey, ii. 262.
_See also_ Audubon.
BADGER, breeding in confinement, ii. 151.
"BAGADOTTEN-TAUBE," i. 141.
BAILY, Mr., on the effect of selection on fowls, ii. 198;
on Dorking fowls, ii. 238.
BAIRD, S., on the origin of the turkey, i. 292.
BAKER, Mr., on heredity in the horse, ii. 11;
on the degeneration of the horse by neglect, ii. 239;
orders of Henrys VII. and VIII. for the destruction of undersized
mares, ii. 203.
BAKEWELL, change in the sheep effected by, ii. 198.
BALANCEMENT, ii. 342-344;
of growth, law of, i. 274.
BALDHEAD, pigeon, i. 151.
BALDNESS, in man, inherited, ii. 73-74;
with deficiency in teeth, ii. 326-327.
BALLANCE, Mr., on the effects of interbreeding on fowls, ii. 125;
on variation in the eggs of fowls, i. 248.
_Ballota nigra_, transmission of variegated leaves in, i. 383.
BAMBOO, varieties of the, ii. 256.
BANANA, variation of the, i. 372; ii. 256, 258;
bud-variation in the, i. 377;
sterility of the, ii. 268.
BANTAM fowls, i. 230;
Sebright, origin of, ii. 96;
sterility of, ii. 101.
BARB (Pigeon), i. 144-146, 210; ii. 227;
{436}
figure of, i. 145;
figure of lower jaw of, i. 164.
BARBS, of wheat, i. 314.
BARBERRY, dark or red-leaved variety, i. 362; ii. 19;
reversion in suckers of seedless variety, i. 384.
BARBUT, J., on the dogs of Guinea, i. 25;
on the domestic pigeons in Guinea, i. 186;
fowls not native in Guinea, i. 237.
BARKING, acquisition of the habit of, by various dogs, i. 27.
BARLEY, wild, i. 313;
of the lake-dwellings, i. 317-318;
ancient variety of, ii. 429.
BARNES, Mr., production of early peas by selection, ii. 201.
BARNET, Mr., on the intercrossing of strawberries, i. 351;
dioeciousness of the Hautbois strawberry, i. 353;
on the scarlet American strawberry, ii. 200.
BARTH, Dr., use of grass-seeds as food in Central Africa, i. 308.
BARTLETT, A. D., on the origin of "Himalayan" rabbits by intercrossing,
i. 109;
on the feral rabbits of Porto Santo, i. 114;
on geese with reversed feathers on the head and neck, i. 288;
on the young of the black-shouldered peacock, i. 290;
on the breeding of the Felidæ in captivity, ii. 150.
BARTRAM, on the black wolf-dog of Florida, i. 22.
BATES, H. W., refusal of wild animals to breed in captivity, ii. 150,
152;
sterility of American monkeys in captivity, ii. 153;
sterility of tamed guans, ii. 156.
BATRACHIA, regeneration of lost parts in, ii. 15.
BEACH, raised, in Peru, containing heads of maize, i. 320.
BEAK, variability of, in fowls, i. 258;
individual differences of, in pigeons, i. 160;
correlation of, with the feet in pigeons, i. 171-174.
BEALE, Lionel, on the contents of cells, ii. 370;
on the multiplication of infectious atoms, ii. 378;
on the origin of fibres, ii. 382.
BEANS, i. 330;
of Swiss lake-dwellings, i. 319;
varieties of, produced by selection, ii. 218;
French and scarlet, variable resistance of to frost, ii. 309, 314;
superiority of native seed of, ii. 314;
a symmetrical variation of scarlet, ii. 322;
experiments on kidney, i. 330;
with monstrous stipules and abortive leaflets, ii. 343.
BEARD, pigeon, i. 151.
BEARS, breeding in captivity, ii. 151.
BEASLEY, J., reversion in crossed cattle, ii. 41.
BEATON, D., effect of soil upon strawberries, i. 353;
on varieties of pelargonium, i. 364, ii. 274, 311;
bud-variation in _Gladiolus colvillii_, i. 382;
cross between Scotch kail and cabbage, ii. 98;
hybrid gladiolus, ii. 139;
constant occurrence of new forms among seedlings, ii. 235;
on the doubling of the compositæ, ii. 316.
BECHUANA cattle, i. 88.
BECK, Mr., constitutional differences in pelargoniums, i. 364.
BECKMANN, on changes in the odours of plants, ii. 274.
BECKSTEIN, on the burrowing of wolves, i. 27;
"Spitz" dog, i. 31;
origin of the Newfoundland dog, i. 42;
crossing of domestic and wild swine, i. 66;
on the Jacobin pigeon, i. 154, 209;
notice of swallow-pigeons, i. 156;
on a fork-tailed pigeon, i. 157;
variations in the colour of the croup in pigeons, i. 184;
on the German dove-cot pigeon, i. 185;
fertility of mongrel pigeons, i. 192;
on hybrid turtle-doves, i. 193;
on crossing the pigeon with _Columba oenas_, _C. palumbus_, _Turtur
risoria_, and _T. vulgaris_, i. 193;
development of spurs in the silk-hen, i. 256;
on Polish fowls, i. 257, 264;
on crested birds, i. 257;
on the Canary-bird, i. 295, ii. 22, 161;
German superstition about the turkey, i. 293;
occurrence of horns in hornless breeds of sheep, ii. 30;
hybrids of the horse and ass, ii. 68;
crosses of tailless fowls, ii. 92;
difficulty of pairing dove-cot and fancy pigeons, ii. 103;
fertility of tame ferrets and rabbits, ii. 112;
fertility of wild sow, _ibid._;
difficulty of breeding caged birds, ii. 154;
comparative fertility of _Psittacus erithacus_ in captivity, ii. 155;
on changes of plumage in captivity, ii. 158;
liability of light-coloured cattle to the attacks of flies, ii. 229;
want of exercise a cause of variability, ii. 257;
effect of privation of light upon the plumage of birds, ii. 280;
on a sub-variety of the monk-pigeon, ii. 350.
BEDDOE, Dr., correlation of complexion with consumption, ii. 335.
BEDEGUAR gall, ii. 284.
BEE, persistency of character of, ii. 236, 254;
intercrossing, ii. 126;
conveyance, of pollen of peas by, i. 329.
BEE-OPHRYS, self-fertilisation of, ii. 91.
BEECH, dark-leaved, i. 362, ii. 19;
fern-leaved, reversion of, i. 382;
weeping, non-production of by seed, ii. 19.
BEECHEY, horses of Loochoo Islands, i. 53.
BEET, i. 326;
increase of sugar in, by selection, ii. 201.
{437}
_Begonia frigida_, singular variety of, i. 365;
sterility of, ii. 166.
BELGIAN rabbit, i. 106.
BELL, T., statement that white cattle have coloured ears, i. 85.
BELL, W., bud-variation in _Cistus tricuspis_, i. 377.
BELLINGERI, observations on gestation in the dog, i. 30;
on the fertility of dogs and cats, ii. 112.
BELON, on high-flying pigeons in Paphlagonia, i. 209;
varieties of the goose, i. 289.
BENGUELA, cattle of, i. 88.
BENNETT, Dr. G., pigs of the Pacific islands, i. 70, 87;
dogs of the Pacific islands, i. 87;
varieties of cultivated plants in Tahiti, ii. 256.
BENNETT, Mr., on the fallow deer, ii. 103.
BENTHAM, G., number and origin of cultivated plants, i. 306;
cereals all cultivated varieties, i. 312;
species of the orange group, i. 334-335;
distinctions of almond and peach, i. 338;
British species of _Rosa_, i. 366;
identity of _Viola lutea_ and _tricolor_, i. 368.
_Berberis vulgaris_, i. 384, ii. 19.
_Berberis Wallichii_, indifference of, to climate, ii. 164.
BERJEAN, on the history of the dog, i. 16, 18.
BERKELEY, G. F., production of hen-cocks in a strain of game-fowls, i.
253.
BERKELEY, M. J., crossing of varieties of the pea, i. 397;
effect of foreign pollen on grapes, i. 400;
on hybrid plants, ii. 131;
analogy between pollen of highly-cultivated plants and hybrids, ii.
268;
on Hungarian kidney-beans, ii. 275;
failure of Indian wheat in England, ii. 307;
bud developed on the petal of a _Clarkia_, ii. 384.
BERNARD, inheritance of disease in the horse, ii. 10.
BERNARD, C., independence of the organs of the body, ii. 368-369;
special affinities of the tissues, ii. 380.
BERNHARDI, varieties of plants with laciniated leaves, ii. 348.
_Bernicla antarctica_, i. 288.
BERTERO, on feral pigeons in Juan Fernandez, i. 190.
_Betula alba_, ii. 18.
BEWICK, on the British wild cattle, i. 84.
BIBLE, reference to breeding studs of horses in, i. 54;
references to domestic pigeons in the, i. 205;
indications of selection of sheep in the, ii. 201;
notice of mules in the, ii. 202.
BIDWELL, Mr., on self-impotence in _Amaryllis_, ii. 139.
BIRCH, weeping, i. 387, ii. 18.
BIRCH, Dr. S., on the ancient domestication of the pigeon in Egypt, i.
205;
notice of bantam fowls in a Japanese encyclopædia, i. 230, 247.
BIRCH, Wyrley, on silver-grey rabbits, i. 109-110.
BIRDS, sterility caused in, by change of conditions, ii. 153-157.
BLADDER-NUT, tendency of the, to become double, ii. 168.
BLAINE, Mr., on wry-legged terriers, ii. 245.
BLAINVILLE, origin and history of the dog, i. 15-16;
variations in the number of teeth in dogs, i. 34;
variations in the number of toes in dogs, i. 35;
on mummies of cats, i. 43;
on the osteology of solid-hoofed pigs, i. 75;
on feral Patagonian and N. American pigs, i. 77.
"BLASS-TAUBE," i. 156.
BLEEDING, hereditary, ii. 7, 8;
sexual limitation of excessive, ii. 73.
BLENDING of crossed races, time occupied by the, ii. 87.
BLINDNESS, hereditary, ii. 9;
at a certain age, ii. 78;
associated with colour of hair, ii. 328.
BLOODHOUNDS, degeneration of, caused by interbreeding, ii. 121.
BLUMENBACH, on the protuberance of the skull in Polish fowls, i. 257;
on the effect of circumcision, ii. 23;
inheritance of a crooked finger, ii. 23;
on badger-dogs and other varieties of the dog, ii. 220;
on _Hydra_, ii. 293;
on the "nisus formativus," ii. 294.
BLYTH, E., on the Pariah dog, i. 24;
hybrids of dog and jackal, i. 32;
early domestication of cats in India, i. 43;
origin of domestic cat, _ib._;
crossing of domestic and wild cats, i. 44;
on Indian cats resembling _Felis chaus_, i. 45;
on striped Burmese ponies, i. 58;
on the stripes of the ass, i. 63;
on Indian wild pigs, i. 66;
on humped cattle, i. 79, 80;
occurrence of _Bos frontosus_ in Irish crannoges, i. 81;
fertile crossing of zebus and common cattle, i. 83;
on the species of sheep, i. 94;
on the fat-tailed Indian sheep, i. 96;
origin of the goat, i. 101;
on rabbits breeding in India, i. 112;
number of tail-feathers in fantails, i. 146;
Lotan tumbler pigeons, i. 150;
number of tail-feathers in _Ectopistes_, i. 159;
on _Columba affinis_, i. 183;
pigeons roosting in trees, i. 181;
on _Columba leuconota_, i. 182;
on _Columba intermedia_ of Strickland, i. 184;
variation in colour of croup in pigeons, i. 184-185, 197;
voluntary domestication of rock-pigeons in India, i. 185;
feral pigeons on the Hudson, i. 190;
{438}
occurrence of sub-species of pigeons, i. 204;
notice of pigeon-fanciers in Delhi, &c., i. 206;
hybrids of _Gallus Sonneratii_ and the domestic hen, i. 234;
supposed hybridity of _Gallus Temminckii_, i. 235;
variations and domestication of _Gallus bankiva_, i. 235-236, 237;
crossing of wild and tame fowls in Burmah, i. 236;
restricted range of the larger gallinaceous birds, i. 237;
feral fowls in the Nicobar islands, i. 238;
black-skinned fowls occurring near Calcutta, i. 256;
weight of _Gallus bankiva_, i. 272;
degeneration of the turkey in India, i. 294, ii. 278;
on the colour of gold-fish, i. 296;
on the Ghor-Khur (_Asinus indicus_), ii. 42;
on _Asinus hemionus_, ii. 43;
number of eggs of _Gallus bankiva_, ii. 112;
on the breeding of birds in captivity, ii. 157;
co-existence of large and small breeds in the same country, ii. 279;
on the drooping ears of the elephant, ii. 301;
homology of leg and wing feathers, ii. 323.
BOETHIUS on Scotch wild cattle, i. 85.
BOITARD and Corbié, on the breeds of pigeons, i. 132;
Lille pouter pigeon, i. 138;
notice of a gliding pigeon, i. 156;
variety of the pouter pigeon, i. 162;
dove-cot pigeon, i. 185;
crossing pigeons, i. 192-193, ii. 97, 126;
sterility of hybrids of turtle-doves, i. 193;
reversion of crossed pigeons, i. 197, ii. 40;
on the fantail, i. 208, ii. 66;
on the trumpeter, ii. 66;
prepotency of transmission in silky fantail, ii. 67, 69;
secondary sexual characters in pigeons, ii. 74;
crossing of white and coloured turtle-doves, ii. 92;
fertility of pigeons, ii. 112.
BOMBYCIDÆ, wingless females of, ii. 299.
_Bombyx hesperus_, ii. 304.
_Bombyx Huttoni_, i. 302.
_Bombyx mori_, i. 300-304.
BONAFOUS, on maize, i. 320, 321.
BONAPARTE, number of species of Columbidæ, i. 133;
number of tail-feathers in pigeons, i. 158;
size of the feet in Columbidæ, i. 174;
on _Columba guinea_, i. 182;
_Columba turricola_, _rupestris_, and _Schimperi_, i. 184.
_Bonatea speciosa_, development of ovary of, i. 403.
BONAVIA, Dr., growth of cauliflowers in India, ii. 310.
BONES, removal of portions of, ii. 296;
regeneration of, ii. 294;
growth and repair of, ii. 381-382.
BONNET, on the salamander, ii. 15, 341, 358, 385;
theory of reproduction, ii. 385.
BORCHMEYER, experiments with the seeds of the weeping ash, ii. 19.
BORECOLE, i. 323.
BORELLI, on Polish fowls, i. 247.
BORNEO, fowls of, with tail-bands, i. 235.
BORNET, E., condition of the ovary in hybrid _Cisti_, i. 389;
self-impotence of hybrid _Cisti_, ii. 140.
BORROW, G., on pointers, i. 42.
BORY de Saint-Vincent, on gold-fish, i. 297.
_Bos_, probable origin of European domestic cattle from three species of,
i. 83.
_Bos frontosus_, i. 79, 81-82.
_Bos indicus_, i. 79.
_Bos longifrons_, i. 79, 81.
_Bos primigenius_, i. 79-81, 119.
_Bos sondaicus_, ii. 206.
_Bos taurus_, i. 79.
_Bos trochoceros_, i. 81.
BOSC, heredity in foliage-varieties of the elm, i. 362.
BOSSE, production of double flowers from old seed, ii. 167.
BOSSI, on breeding dark-coloured silkworms, i. 302.
BOUCHARDAT, on the vine disease, i. 334.
BOUDIN, on local diseases, ii. 276;
resistance to cold of dark-complexioned men, ii. 335.
"BOULANS," i. 137.
"BOUTON d'Alep," ii. 276.
BOWEN, Prof., doubts as to the importance of inheritance, ii. 3.
BOWMAN, Mr., hereditary peculiarities in the human eye, ii. 8-10;
hereditary cataract, ii. 79.
BRACE, Mr., on Hungarian cattle, i. 80.
_Brachycome iberidifolia_, ii. 261.
BRACTS, unusual development of, in gooseberries, i. 355.
BRADLEY, Mr., effect of grafts upon the stock in the ash, i. 394;
effect of foreign pollen upon apples, i. 401;
on change of soil, ii. 146.
"BRAHMA Pootras," a new breed of fowls, i. 245.
BRAIN, proportion of, in hares and rabbits, i. 126-129.
BRANDT, origin of the goat, i. 101.
_Brassica_, varieties of, with enlarged stems, ii. 348.
_Brassica asperifolia_, ii. 343.
_Brassica napus_, i. 325.
_Brassica oleracea_, i. 323.
_Brassica rapa_, i. 325, ii. 165.
BRAUN, A., bud-variation in the vine, i. 375;
in the currant, i. 376;
in _Mirabilis jalapa_, i. 382;
in _Cytisus adami_, i. 388;
on reversion in the foliage of trees, i. 382;
spontaneous production of _Cytisus purpureo-elongatus_, i. 390;
reversion of flowers by stripes and blotches, ii. 37;
excess of nourishment a source of variability, ii. 257.
{439}
BRAZIL, cattle of, i. 88.
BREAD-FRUIT, varieties of, ii. 256;
sterility and variability of, ii. 262.
BREE, W. T., bud-variation in _Geranium pratense_ and _Centaurea cyanus_,
i. 379;
by tubers in the dahlia, i. 385;
on the deafness of white cats with blue eyes, ii. 329.
BREEDING, high, dependent on inheritance, ii. 3-4.
BREEDS, domestic, persistency of, ii. 246, 428-429;
artificial and natural, ii. 413-414;
extinction of, ii. 425;
of domestic cats, i. 45-47;
of pigs produced by crossing, i. 78;
of cattle, i. 86-87, 91-93;
of goats, i. 101.
BREHM, on _Columba amaliæ_, i. 183.
BRENT, B. P., number of mammæ in rabbits, i. 106;
habits of the tumbler pigeon, i. 151;
Laugher pigeon, i. 155;
colouring of the kite tumbler, i. 160;
crossing of the pigeon with _Columba oenas_, i. 193;
mongrels of the trumpeter pigeon, ii. 66;
close interbreeding of pigeons, ii. 126;
opinion on Aldrovandi's fowls, i. 247;
on stripes in chickens, i. 249-250;
on the combs of fowls, i. 253;
double-spurred Dorking fowls, i. 255;
effect of crossing on colour of plumage in fowls, i. 258;
incubatory instinct of mongrels between non-sitting varieties of fowls,
ii. 44;
origin of the domestic duck, i. 277;
fertility of the hook-billed duck, _ibid._;
occurrence of the plumage of the wild duck in domestic breeds, i. 280;
voice of ducks, i. 281;
occurrence of a short upper mandible in crosses of hook-billed and
common ducks, i. 281;
reversion in ducks produced by crossing, ii. 40;
variation of the canary-bird, i. 295;
fashion in the canary, ii. 240;
hybrids of canary and finches, ii. 45.
BRICKELL, on raising nectarines from seed, i. 340;
on the horses of North Carolina, ii. 300.
BRIDGES, Mr., on the dogs of Tierra del Fuego, i. 39;
on the selection of dogs by the Fuegians, ii. 207.
BRIDGMAN, W. K., reproduction of abnormal ferns, i. 383, ii. 379.
BRIGGS, J. J., regeneration of portions of the fins of fishes, ii. 15.
BROCA, P., on the intercrossing of dogs, i. 31-32;
on hybrids of hare and rabbit, i. 105;
on the rumpless fowl, i. 259;
on the character of half-castes, ii. 47;
degree of fertility of mongrels, ii. 100;
sterility of descendants of wild animals bred in captivity, ii. 160.
BROCCOLI, i. 323;
rudimentary flowers in, ii. 316;
tenderness of, ii. 310.
BROMEHEAD, W., doubling of the Canterbury bell by selection, ii. 200.
BROMFIELD, Dr., sterility of the ivy and _Acorus calamus_, ii. 170.
_Bromus secalinus_, i. 314.
BRONN, H. G., bud-variation in _Anthemis_, i. 379;
effects of cross-breeding on the female, i. 404;
on heredity in a one-horned cow, ii. 12, 13;
propagation of a pendulous peach by seed, ii. 18;
absorption of the minority in crossed races, ii. 88;
on the crossing of horses, ii. 92;
fertility of tame rabbits and sheep, ii. 112;
changes of plumage in captivity, ii. 158;
on the dahlia, ii. 261.
BRONZE period, dog of, i. 18.
BROWN, G., variations in the dentition of the horse, i. 50.
BROWN-SÉQUARD, Dr., inheritance of artificially-produced epilepsy in the
guinea-pig, ii. 24.
_Brunswigia_, ii. 139.
BRUSSELS Sprouts, i. 323, ii. 429.
_Bubo maximus_, ii. 154.
BUCKLAND, F., on oysters, ii. 280;
number of eggs in a codfish, ii. 379.
BUCKLE, Mr., doubts as to the importance of inheritance, ii. 3.
BUCKLEY, Miss, carrier-pigeons roosting in trees, i. 181.
BUCKMAN, Prof., cultivation of _Avena fatua_, i. 313;
cultivation of the wild parsnip, i. 326, ii. 201, 277;
reversion in the parsnip, ii. 31.
BUCKWHEAT, injurious to white pigs, when in flower, ii. 337.
BUD and seed, close analogy of, i. 411.
BUD-REVERSION, ii. 37.
BUDS, adventitious, ii. 384.
BUD-VARIATION, i. 373-411, ii. 254, 287-288, 291;
contrasted with seminal reproduction, i. 373;
peculiar to plants, i. 374;
in the peach, i. 340, 374;
in plums, i. 375;
in the cherry, _ibid._;
in grapes, _ibid._;
in the gooseberry, currant, pear, and apple, i. 376;
in the banana, camellia, hawthorn, _Azalea indica_, and _Cistus
tricuspis_, i. 377;
in the hollyhock and pelargonium, i. 378;
in _Geranium pratense_ and the chrysanthemum, i. 379;
in roses, i. 367, 379-381;
in sweet williams, carnations, pinks, stocks, and snapdragons, i. 381;
in wall-flowers, cyclamen, _Oenothera biennis_, _Gladiolus colvillii_,
fuchsias, and _Mirabilis jalapa_, i. 382;
in foliage of various trees, i. 382-384;
in cryptogamic plants, i. 383;
by suckers in _Phlox_ and barberry, i. 384;
by tubers in the potato, _ibid._;
in the dahlia, i. 385;
by bulbs in hyacinths, _Imatophyllum miniatum_, and tulips, i. 385;
in _Tigridia conchiflora_, i. 386;
{440}
in _Hemerocallis_, _ibid._;
doubtful cases, i. 386-387;
in _Cytisus Adami_, i. 387-394;
probable in _Æsculus rubicunda_, i. 392;
summary of observations on, 406.
BUFFON, on crossing the wolf and dog, i. 32;
increase of fertility by domestication, ii. 111;
improvement of plants by unconscious selection, ii. 216;
theory of reproduction, ii. 375.
_Bulimus_, ii. 53.
BULL, apparent influence of, on offspring, ii. 68.
BULLACE, i. 345.
BULLDOG, recent modifications of, i. 42.
BULLFINCH, breeding in captivity, ii. 154;
attacking flower-buds, ii. 232.
BULT, Mr., selection of pouter pigeons, ii. 197.
"BÜNDTNERSCHWEIN," i. 67.
BUNTING, reed, in captivity, ii. 158.
BURDACH, crossing of domestic and wild animals, i. 66;
aversion of the wild boar to barley, ii. 303.
BURKE, Mr., inheritance in the horse, ii. 10.
_Burlingtonia_, ii. 135.
BURMAH, cats of, i. 47.
BURMESE ponies, striped, i. 58, 59.
BURNES, Sir A., on the Karakool sheep, i. 98, ii. 278;
varieties of the vine in Cabool, i. 333;
hawks, trained in Scinde, ii. 153;
pomegranates producing seed, ii. 168.
BURTON Constable, wild cattle at, i. 84.
"BURZEL-TAUBEN," i. 150.
BUSSORAH carrier, i. 141.
_Buteo vulgaris_, copulation of, in captivity, ii. 154.
BUTTERFLIES, polymorphic, ii. 399-400.
BUZAREINGUES, Girou de, inheritance of tricks, ii. 6.