136 THE DOCTRINE OF DESCENT. 



originally variable, and on their first accidental appear- 

 ance usually perceived only by the careful eye of a 

 connoisseur. But not a few cases are likewise certified 

 in which an accidental deformity and a new charactei 

 appearing suddenly even in a single individual have lent 

 themselves to the rapid formation of a race. " Thus," 

 as Darwin relates,''^ "in 1791 a ram lamb was born in 

 Massachusetts, having short, crooked legs and a long 

 back like a turnspit dog. From this one lamb the otter 

 or ancon semi-monstrous breed was raised ; as these 

 sheep could not leap over the fences, it was thought that 

 they would be valuable ; but they have been supplanted 

 by merinos, and thus exterminated. These sheep are 

 remarkable from transmitting their character so truly, 

 that Colonel Humphreys never heard of but one ques- 

 tionable case of an ancon ram and ewe not producing 

 ancon offspring." — " A more interesting case has been 

 recorded in the Report of the Juries for the Great Exhi- 

 bition (185 1), namely, the production of a merino ram 

 lamb on the ]\Iauchamp farm in 1828, which was remark- 

 able for its long, smooth, straight, and silky wool. By 

 the year 1833, Mr. Graux had raised rams enough to 

 serve his whole flock, and after a few years more he was 

 able to sell stock of his new breed. So peculiar and 

 valuable is the wool, that it sells at 25 per cent, above 

 the best merino wool ; even the fleeces of half-bred 

 animals are valuable, and are known in France as the 

 IMauchamp merino. It is interesting, as showing how 

 generally any marked deviation of structure is accom- 

 panied by other deviations, that the first ram and his off- 

 spring were of small size with large heads, long necks, 

 narrow chests, and long flanks; but these blemishes 



