36 Structural Characters: Animals [CH. 



55. Certain breeds (Houdan, Polish, Breda) have an 

 extraordinary development of the nostril, which is patulous, 

 with alae horizontal instead of curving downwards. This 

 peculiarity is recessive to the normal (Davenport, 101). 

 Hurst has observed the same thing and Mr Punnett and I 

 have similar evidence from the Breda. Davenport states 

 that in his experience the "high" nostril is never combined 

 with a fully developed comb. 



56. The tendency to go broody and sit on eggs 

 dominates over the absence of this instinct, characteristic 

 of several Mediterranean breeds. There is probably segre- 

 gation in regard to these two dispositions, but this cannot 

 yet be asserted positively. 



In regard to fertility as measured by egg-production there is as yet no 

 clear evidence. 



57. The loud and penetrating shrieks which the cocks 

 (and to a less degree the hens) of an Egyptian breed give 

 out when caught, were reproduced almost exactly by the 

 J\ generation from a cross with a non-shrieking breed. 

 Though numerical data in regard to such a character are 

 scarcely attainable, there is little doubt of the segregation 

 as evidenced by /%. 



PIGEONS. 



58. The normal foot is dominant to the webbed con- 

 dition of the toes which sometimes occurs as an abnormality 

 (Staples-Browne, 254). 



Mr J. L. Bonhote tells me that in his experiments normal birds have 

 produced webbed offspring. He is making further experiments with this 

 family. 



59. The "shell," or turning-back of the head-feathers 

 of the Nun is dominant to the normal plain head (ibid.\ 



60. Birds with normal, i2-feathered tails crossed with 

 the many-feathered Fantail give intermediate numbers in 

 F ^ In /% i2-feathered tails reappear, but, so far, no real 

 Fan has come from the cross-breds. Mr Staples- Browne, to 

 whom I am indebted for this information, will publish a 

 complete account of his evidence. He tells me that the 

 extracted 12 -feathered birds do not breed true, but may 

 throw birds with 13 or 14 feathers. 



