Permanence and EvohUion. 63 



come wild in it. I can see nothing unlikely 

 in primitive man having picked out grotesque- 

 looking birds, which were also easily domestic- 

 able ; it accords with what we know of man, 

 both primitive and cultivated. As these races 

 resemble the rock dove, and each other, in every- 

 thing except one or two conspicuous points, it 

 need not surprise us that they produce perfectly 

 fertile offspring, or that they all share the attri- 

 bute of breeding freely in captivity, and being 

 easily tameable. 



There remains the fact of their odd differ- 

 ences, coupled with general likeness to the 

 rock dove. Darwin thinks that if these races 

 were derived from a cross, the originals must 

 have been equally or more grotesque. But 

 that does not altogether follow, because we 

 know that half-bred creatures often combine the 

 characters of their parents in very odd ways, 

 especially in matters of proportion, still more if 

 their breeding has been directed by selection, 



