The Making of Species 



allowance must be made for the artificial state in 

 which these birds have long been kept," and 

 cites in his favour the case of Mr Cupples' female 

 deerhound that thrice produced puppies, and on 

 each occasion showed a marked preference for 

 one of the largest and handsomest, but not the 

 most eager, of four deerhounds living with her, 

 all in the prime of life. 



The question what is it that determines the 

 choice of the female is obviously one of con- 

 siderable importance, and it was to be expected 

 that many zoologists would have conducted 

 experiments with a view to deciding it. This 

 legitimate expectation has not been realised. 



The matter of sexual selection remains to-day 

 practically where Darwin left it. Wallace rejects 

 the whole theory, and believes that natural 

 selection alone can explain all the phenomena of 

 sexual dimorphism. To such an extent does the 

 enticing idea of the all-puissance of natural 

 selection dominate the minds of scientific men 

 that but few of them have paid any attention to 

 the question of sexual selection. This neglect 

 of the subject affords an example of the baneful 

 results of the too-ready acceptance of an enticing 

 theory, " Natural selection explains everything, 

 why then investigate further ? " seems to be the 

 general attitude of our present-day naturalists. 



Edmund Selous and D. Dewar have made 

 some observations on birds, and the Peckhams 



308 



