36 NATURAL HISTORY. 



from Philippine Islands, Cervus Nigricans and Cervus Alfredi which 

 have twice bred in the gardens, and so have the European and 

 Mesopotamian fallow deer. Sir Victor Brooke in one of his letters 

 to me says he has known the common red deer and the Japanese 

 deer to interbreed. So far the question of interbreeding is amply 

 proved, but the interesting feature of the case is how far is this 

 carried out in the wild state so as to create new species. I am of 

 opinion that, if the truth were fully known, we should have to 

 narrow down our list of goats and sheep. It is an undecided 

 question whether Ovis Polii and Ovis Karelini, the two great, 

 sheep of the Pamir steppes, are not one and the same, and I think 

 that Ovis Broohei is the hybrid which forms the subject of this 

 paper. Sir Victor Brooke in a letter to me says : " If we can 

 prove that the form is a hybrid between those two species {i.e., 

 0. llodgsoni et Vignei ), it will be much more interesting than 

 if it should prove what is called a distinct species. I do not 

 think the presence of one or even several male 0. Hodgsoni 

 amongst herds of 0. Vignei would originate a breed of sheep 

 intermediate in size and character between the two species, the much 

 larger quantity of Ovis Vignei blood in the district would, in my 

 opinion, prevail over the infusion of 0. Hodgsoni blood introduced 

 in such small quantities, and the thus originated larger animals 

 would throw back to the parent stock. If it is a case of hybridi- 

 zation what we should find would be herds of 0. Vignei 

 with here and there large animals mixing and runnino- 

 with them of 0. Brookei forms." Now this is exactly what 

 Mons. Dauvergne found. In the mountain range south of 



cd o 



the Indus near Zanskar, the precise locality being for obvious 

 reasons withheld from publication, a herd of Ovis Vignei were 

 observed for some years to contain a large ram of Ovis llodgsoni, 

 which drove out the weaker Shapoo rams and appropriated the 

 ewes of the herd. He was ultimately one winterkilled and eaten 

 by Chankos (the Tibetan wolf), but during his stay he produced 

 a family of hybrids possessing greater size of horn and head with 

 characteristic colouring, combining traits of both animals. In 

 course of time these hybrids were crossed again with the Vignei 

 stock, and the third generation shows signs of degeneration from 

 the larger sheep and of reversion to the Vignei type. 



The skull of the half-bred animals, which the Tartars called Nyan 

 Shapoo (the former being the name of the Hodgsoni or Amnion 



