262 SEXUAL selection: mammals. PartIL 



" bitclies botli in weight and size. At birth, and for 

 " several weeks afterwards, a bitch-puppy will occa- 

 " sionally be larger than any of the dogs, but they are 

 " invariably beaten by them later." Mr. McNeill, of 

 Colinsay, concludes that " the males do not attain 

 " their full growth till over two years old, though 

 " the females attain it sooner." According to Mr. 

 Cupples' experience, male dogs go on growing in 

 stature till they are from twelve to eighteen months 

 old, and in weight till from eighteen to twenty-four 

 months old ; wliilst the females cease increasino^ in 

 stature at the a2;e of from nine to fourteen or fifteen 

 months, and in weight at the age of from twelve to 

 fifteen months. From these various statements it is 

 clear that the full difference in size between the 

 male and female Scotch deer-hound is not acquired 

 until rather late in life. The males are almost exclu- 

 sively used for coursing, for, as Mr. McNeill informs 

 me, the females have not sufficient streno-th and weii^ht 

 to pull down a full-grown deer. From the names used 

 in old legends, it appears, as I hear from Mr. Cupples, 

 that at a very ancient period the males were the most 

 celebrated, the females being mentioned only as the 

 mothers of famous dogs. Hence during many genera- 

 tions, it is the male which has been chiefly tested 

 for strength, size, speed, and courage, and the bi^st 

 will have been bred from. As, however, the males 

 do not attain their full dimensions until a rather 

 late period in life, they will have tended, in ac- 

 cordance with the law often indicated, to transmit 

 their characters to their male offspring alone ; and 

 thus the great inequality in size between the sexes 

 of the Scotch deer-hound may probably be accounted 

 for. 



The males of some few quadi-upeds possess organs or 



