TRANSMISSION OF MALFORMATIONS. 185 
the ear, practised early in life, and in most nations of 
the world, and even in tribes the most barbaric, yet 
there is not the slightest evidence that the result of such 
mutilations are transmitted, and the ear is of all parts of 
the body the most easily and frequently observed. If 
such injuries—for so we must regard them—were trans- 
mitted, we ought to find the offspring of wild birds in 
confinement, which have been pinioned, lack the bastard 
wing ; such is not the case, nor are they in any way 
malformed in consequence of the mutilation to which the 
parents were subjected. It is inconsistent with the 
fundamental principles of evolution that the effects of 
removal or injury to parts of the body should be trans- 
mitted to the offspring. It may perhaps be interesting 
to briefly mention two instances which, in the absence 
of more accurate information, have been interpreted as 
due to inheritance of acquired conditions. 
The first instance concerns the tail feathers of 
Momotus ; this bird has the singular habit of picking 
away the web of the central feathers of its tail until 
they assume a spatulate condition. In consequence of 
the constant stripping of the web the feathers, when 
they first appear, are naturally narrower in the places 
where they are habitually denuded. The habit is 
practised by both sexes alike. The matter has been 
carefully investigated by Mr. Salvin, who is satisfied 
that this plucking process is practised by the motmots. 
These observations are interesting, for it is thought 
probable that the spatulate or racket-shaped tails in 
some other birds may have been brought about in some 
such way, so as to become a permanent condition. All 
