The Making of Species 



purposes do not assume all the varied hues that 

 characterise those that are allowed to breed in- 

 discriminately. Racehorses, greyhounds, and 

 homing pigeons furnish examples of this. Even 

 more remarkable is the case of the Indian Aseel 

 or game-cock. This is bred purely for fighting 

 purposes, and is required to display extraordinary 

 powers of endurance, since the spurs are cut off 

 in order to prolong the fight. Thus it is that 

 this Indian race of game-cocks shows little varia- 

 tion when compared with the English breed, 

 which fights in a more natural manner. The 

 hens of the Indian form seem never to show the 

 colouration of the wild jungle fowl, although the 

 cocks may do so. It would appear that hens 

 having the colouration of their wild ancestors 

 cannot breed cocks possessed of the requisite 

 courage. The Aseel is said to be of the highest 

 courage only when the legs, beak and iris are 

 white. 



There is, we believe, not the least doubt that 

 many other connections between colour and 

 various characteristics have yet to be discovered. 

 It is high time that competent naturalists paid 

 attention to this subject. A study of the question 

 will almost certainly throw much light upon many 

 phenomena of animal colouration which hitherto 

 have not been satisfactorily explained. It is 

 quite likely that the sandy hue displayed by 

 birds and beasts which frequent desert regions 



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