224 DOMESTIC PIGEONS : Chap. VI. 



effects of correlation of growth. But without selection all 

 this would produce only a trifling or no result ; for without 

 such aid differences of all kinds would, from the two following 

 causes, soon disappear. In a healthy and vigorous lot of 

 pigeons many more young birds are killed for food or die than 

 are reared to maturity ; so that an individual having any 

 peculiar character, if not selected, would run a good chance of 

 being destroyed; and if not destroyed, the peculiarity in 

 question would generally be obliterated by free intercrossing. 

 It might, however, occasionally happen that the same varia- 

 tion repeatedly occurred, owing to the action of peculiar and 

 uniform conditions of life, and in this case it would prevail 

 independently of selection. But when selection is brought 

 into play all is changed ; for this is the foundation-stone in 

 the formation of new races ; and with the pigeon, circum- 

 stances, as we have already seen, are eminently favourable for 

 selection. When a bird presenting some conspicuous vari- 

 ation has been preserved, and its offspring have been selected, 

 carefully matched, and again propagated, and so onwards 

 during successive generations, the principle is so obvious that 

 nothing more need be said about it. This may be called 

 methodical selection, for the breeder has a distinct object in 

 view, namely, to preserve some character which has actually 

 appeared ; or to create some improvement already pictured in 

 his mind. 



Another form of selection has hardly been noticed by those 

 authors who have discussed this subject, but is even more im- 

 portant. This form may be called unconscious selection, for 

 the breeder selects his birds unconsciously, unintentionally, 

 and without method, yet he surely though slowly produces a 

 great result. I refer to the effects which follow from each 

 fancier at first procuring and afterwards rearing as good birds 

 as he can, according to his skill, and according to the standard 

 of excellence at each successive period. He does not wish 

 permanently to modify the breed ; he does not look to the 

 distant future, or speculate on the final result of the slow 

 accumulation during many generations of successive slight 

 changes ; he is content if he possesses a good stock, and more 

 than content if he can beat his rivals. The fancier in the 



