298 



GENERAL ZOOLOGY 



ability the former was derived from the latter by taking advan- 

 tage of chance variations in tail feathers and selecting for breeding 



Fig. 176. — A few of the domestic varieties of pigeons. A, English Fantail; 

 thirty to forty tail feathers, small feet. B, English Pouter; short beak, upright 

 posture, inflated crop. C, English Carrier; elongated beak, neck, and body, 

 corrunculated skin surrounding the eyes. D, short-faced English Tumbler; 

 small beak, feet, and body; tumbling habit (tumbles backward, involuntarily, 

 during flight) . {Redrawn from Darwin, Animals and Plants under Domestication. 

 D. Appleton-Century Company. By permission.) 



only those birds showing abnormally large numbers, until the 

 present fantail was produced (Fig. 176). The same principle has 

 been followed in developing the various other breeds. 



