HEREDITARY TRANSMISSION AND VARIATION. 91 



in the form of a human member, in the person of a 

 Maltese, of the name of Gratio Kelleia, who was born 

 with six fingers upon each hand, and the like number 

 of toes to each of his feet. That was a case of spon- 

 taneous variation. Nobody knows why he was born 

 with that number of fingers and toes, and as we don't 

 know, we call it a case of " spontaneous r variation. 

 There is another remarkable case also. I select these, 

 because they happen to have been observed and noted 

 very carefully at the time. It frequently happens that 

 a variation occurs, but the persons w T ho notice it do not 

 take any care in noting down the particulars, until at 

 length, when inquiries come to be made, the exact cir- 

 cumstances are forgotten ; and hence, multitudinous as 

 may be such " spontaneous " variations, it is exceed- 

 ingly difficult to get at the origin of them. 



The second case is one of which you may find the 

 whole details in the " Philosophical Transactions " for 

 the year 1813, in a paper communicated by Colonel 

 Humphrey to the President of the Royal Society, — 

 " On a new Variety in the Breed of Sheep," giving an 

 account of a very remarkable breed of sheep, which 

 at one time was well known in the northern states of 

 America, and which went by the name of the Ancon 

 or the Otter breed of sheep. In the year 1791, there 

 was a farmer of the name of Seth Wright in Massa- 

 chusetts, who had a flock of sheep, consisting of a ram 

 and, I think, of some twelve or thirteen ewes. Of this 

 flock of ewes, one at the breeding-time bore a lamb 

 which was very singularly formed ; it had a very long 

 body, very short legs, and those legs were bowed ! I 

 will tell you by-and-by how this singular variation in 

 the breed of sheep came to be noted, and to have the 



