36 ORIGIN OF SPECIES 



almost certain that they are descended from a different abo- 

 rigmal stock from our European cattle and some competent 

 judges believe that these latter have had two or three wild 

 progenitors, — whether or not these deserve to be called 

 species. This conclusion, as well as that of the specific dis- 

 tinction between the humped and common cattle, may, in- 

 deed, be looked upon as established by the admirable re- 

 searches of Professor Riitimeyer. With respect to horses, 

 from reasons which I cannot here give, I am doubtfully 

 inclined to believe, in opposition to several authors, that all 

 the races belong to the same species. Having kept nearly 

 all the English breeds of the fowl alive, having bred and 

 crossed them, and examined their skeletons, it appears to 

 me almost certain that all are the descendants of the wild 

 Indian fowl, Gallus bankiva; and this is the conclusion of 

 Mr. Blyth, and of others who have studied this bird in 

 India. In regard to ducks, and rabbits, some breeds of which 

 differ much from each other, the evidence is clear that they 

 are all descended from the common wild duck and rabbit. 



The doctrine of the origin of our several domestic races 

 from several aboriginal stocks, has been carried to an absurd 

 extreme by some authors. They believe that every race 

 which breeds true, let the distinctive characters be ever so 

 slight, has had its wild prototype. At this rate there must 

 have existed at least a score of species of wild cattle, as 

 many sheep, and several goats, in Europe alone, and several 

 even within Great Britain. One author believes that there 

 formerly existed eleven wild species of sheep peculiar to 

 Great Britain ! When we bear in mind that Britain has now 

 not one peculiar mammal, and France but few distinct from 

 those of Germany, and so with Hungary. Spain, etc., but 

 that each of these kingdoms possesses several peculiar breeds 

 of cattle, sheep, etc., we must admit that many domestic 

 breeds must have originated in Europe; from whence other- 

 wise could they have been derived? So it is in India. Even 

 in the case of the breeds of the domestic dog throughout the 

 world, which I admit are descended from several wild spe- 

 cies, it cannot be doubted that there has been an immense 

 amount of inherited variation ; for who will believe that 

 animals closely resembling the Italian greyhound, the blood- 



