64 EVOLUTION 



what may not Nature have effected in a very 

 long time? 



There are over two hundred very well- 

 marked breeds of domestic pigeons, and 

 there are at least ten that would be ranked 

 as distinct genera if they occurred wild; yet 

 there is very strong evidence that all are 

 scions of the blue rock-dove, Columba livia. 

 In the same way there is very strong evi- 

 dence that all the breeds of poultry Ham- 

 burghs and Dorkings, Bantams and Silk- 

 fowl, and all the rest of them, are descended 

 from the jungle-fowl, Gallus bankiva, still 

 found wild in some parts of India and the 

 Malay Islands. Since the canary was in- 

 troduced into Europe about the middle of the 

 sixteenth century, over a dozen very dis- 

 tinctive races have been established; and of 

 course varieties for "the fancy" without end. 



It is a remarkable fact that, in spite of 

 the accuracy, assiduity and collecting ac- 

 quisitiveness which characterize botanical 

 systematists, we know very little that is 

 quite certain about the pedigrees of culti- 

 vated plants. As De Vries says: The origin 

 and history of the greater part of our garden 

 flowers, fruits and vegetables are obscure; 

 we see them as they are, and do not know 

 whence they came. The original habitat 

 for a whole genus or for a species at large may 



