Heredity and Natural Selection. 299 



This certainly seems to be an instance of the sudden 

 appearance, in a wild species, of a very considerable mod- 

 ification, and although it is true that few similiar iii^ 

 stances have been recorded, the stndy of variation in 

 domesticated animals leads us to believe that many sim- 

 ilar cases must occur in wild forms, although our means 

 of observation do not allow us to prove that this is the 

 case. 



In 1791 a ram lamb was born in Massachusetts, hav- 

 ing shoit crooked legs and a long back, like a turnspit 

 doir. From this one lamb the well-known ancon breed 

 of sheep was raised (Darwin, Variation, I. p. 126). Dar- 

 win says that in 1828 a single ram-lamb was born on the 

 Mauchamp farm with long, smooth, straight silky wool. 

 The ram was of small size, with a large head, long neck, 

 narrow chest, and long flanks. This one ram is the 

 founder of the Mauchamp-merino breed of sheep, and 

 has transmitted all his desirable peculiarities to a whole 

 race of descendants, although certain undesirable pecu- 

 liarities have been eliminated by judicious selection. 



Darwin says {Variation, I. p. 350): ''There is one 

 strange fact with respect to the peacock, namely, the oc- 

 casional appearance in England of the 'japanned' or 

 'black-shouldered kind.' This form has lately been 

 named on the high authority of Mr. Sclater as a distinct 

 species, Pavo nigripennis, which he believes will here- 

 after be found wild in some countrv, but not in India, 

 where it is certainly unknown. These japanned birds 

 differ considerably from the common jieacock in the 

 color of their secondary wing-feathers, scapulars, wing 

 coverts and thighs; the females are much paler, and the 

 young, as I hear from Mr. Bartlett, likewise differ. Tliey 

 can be propagated perfectly true. Although they do 

 not resemble the hvbrids Avhich have been raised between 



