Chap. XV. OF THE MODIFICATION OF RACES. 75 



for tliongli tliev may themselves be imifovm in cliaracter, 

 they yield during many generations astonishingly diversified 

 offspring. The breeder is driven to despair, and concludes 

 that he will never form an intermediate race. But from the 

 cases already given, and from others which have been re- 

 corded, it appears that patience alone is necessary ; as Mr. 

 Spooner remarks, "nature opposes no barrier to successful 

 admixture ; in the course of time, by the aid of selection and 

 careful weeding, it is practicable to establish a new breed." 

 After six or seven generations the hoped-for result will in 

 most cases be obtained ; but even then an occasional reversion, 

 or failure to keep true, may be expected. The attempt, 

 however, will assuredly fail if the conditions of life bo 

 decidedly unfavourable to the characters of either parent- 

 breed. ^° 



Although the grandchildren and succeeding generations 

 of cross-bred animals are generally variable in an extreme 

 degree, some curious exceptions to the rule have been observed 

 both with crossed races and species. Thus Boitard and 

 Corbie ^^ assert that from a Pouter and a Eunt " a Cavalier 

 will appear, which we have classed amongst pigeons of pure 

 race, because it transmits all its qualities to its posterity." 

 The editor of the ' Poultry Chronicle ' ^^ bred some bluish 

 fowls from, a black Spanish cock and a Malay hen ; and these 

 remained true to colour "generation after generation." The 

 Himalayan breed of rabbits was certainly formed by crossing 

 two sub-varieties of the silver-grey rabbit ; although it sud- 

 denly assumed its present character, which differs much from 

 that of either parent-breed, yet it has ever since been easily 

 and truly propagated. I crossed some Labrador and Penguin 

 ducks, and recrossed the mongrels with Penguins ; afterwards 

 most of the ducks reared during three generations were nearly 

 uniform in character, being brown with a white crescentic 

 mark on the lower part of the breast, and with some Avhite 

 spots at the base of the beak ; so that by the aid of a little 

 selection a new breed might easily have been formed. With 



so See Colin's ' Traite de Phys. well treated. 

 Comp. de!i Animaux Domesciquos,' ^'' ' Les Pigeons,' p. 37. 



(x>m."ii. p. 536, where this subject is ^^ Vol. i., 1854, p. 101. 



