5 16 



The Descent of Man. 



Part II. 



polygamous seals, the males of which are well known to fight 

 savagely together, that the sexes differ mich in size ; the mono- 

 gamous species differing but little. Whales also afford evidence 

 of the relation existing between the pugnacity of the males and 

 their large size compared with that of the female ; the males of 

 the right -whales do not fight together, and they are not larger, 

 but rather smaller, than their females ; on the other hand, male 

 sperm-whales, fight much together, and their bodies are " often 

 " found scarred with the imprint of their rival's teeth," and 

 they are double the size of the females. The greater strength of 

 the male, as Hunter long ago remarked, 37 is invariably displayed 

 in those parts of the body which are brought into action in 

 fighting with rival males — for instance, in the massive neck of 

 the bull. Male quadrupeds are also more courageous and 

 pugnacious than the females. There can be little doubt that 

 these characters have been gained, partly through sexual selec- 

 tion, owing to a long series of victories by tbe stronger and 

 more courageous males over the weaker, and partly through the 

 mhesited effects of use. It is probable that the successive 

 variations in strength, size, and courage, whether due to mere 

 variability or to the effects of use, by the accumulation of which 

 male quadrupeds have acquired these characteristic qualities, 

 occurred rather late in life, and were consequently to a large 

 extent limited in their transmission to the same sex. 



from these considerations I was anxious to obtain information 

 as to the Scotch deerhound, the sexes of which differ more in 

 size than those of any other breed (though bloodhounds differ 

 considerably), or than in any wild canine species known to me. 

 Accordingly, I applied to Mr. Cupples, well-known for his 

 success with this breed, who has weighed and measured many 

 of his own dogs, and who has with great kindness collected for 

 me the following facts from various sources. Fine male dogs, 

 measured at the shoulder, range from 28 inches, which is low, 

 to 33 or even 34 inches in height; and in weight from 80 

 pounds, which is light, to 120 pounds, or even more. The 

 females range in height from 23 to 27, or even to 28 inches ; and 

 in weight from 50 to 70, or even 80 pounds. 38 Mr. Cupples 





Comp. Zoolog. of Cambridge, United 

 States,' vol. ii. No. 1, p. 82. The 

 weights were ascertained by a care- 

 ful observer, Capt, Bryant. Dr. 

 Grill in 'The American NararaJist,' 

 Jan. 1871, Prof. Shaler on the 

 relative size of the sexes of whales, 

 American Naturalist,' Jin. 1873. 



37 ' Animal Economy,' p. 45. 



38 See also Richardson's ' Manual 

 on the Dog,' p. 59. Much valuable 

 information on the Scottish deer- 

 hound is given by Mr. McMeill, 

 who first called attention to the 

 inequality in size between the sexes, 

 in Scroj^e's ' Art of Deer Stalking 



