UNCONSCIOUS SELECTION 49 



breeding of domestic animals was carefully attended to in 

 ancient times, and is now attended to by the lowest savages. 

 It would, indeed, have been a strange fact, had attention 

 not been paid to breeding, for the inheritance of good and 

 bad qualities is so obvious. 



UNCONSCIOUS SELECTION 



At the present time, eminent breeders try by methodical 

 selection, with a distinct object in view, to make a new strain 

 or sub-breed, superior to anything of the kind in the country. 

 But, for our purpose, a form of Selection, which may be 

 called Unconscious, and which results from every one trying 

 to possess and breed from the best individual animals, is more 

 important. Thus, a man who intends keeping pointers nat- 

 urally tries to get as good dogs as he can, and afterwards 

 breeds from his own best dogs, but he has no wish or expec- 

 tation of permanently altering the breed. Nevertheless we 

 may infer that this process, continued during centuries, would 

 improve and modify any breed, in the same way as Bakewell, 

 Collins, etc., by this very same process, only carried on more 

 methodically, did greatly modify, even during their lifetimes, 

 the forms and qualities of their cattle. Slow and insensible 

 changes of this kind can never be recognised unless actual 

 measurements or careful drawings of the breeds in question 

 have been made long ago, which may serve for comparison. 

 In some cases, however, unchanged, or but little changed 

 individuals of the same breed exist in less civilised districts, 

 where the breed has been less improved. There is reason to 

 believe that King Charles' spaniel has been unconsciously 

 modified to a large extent since the time of that monarch. 

 Some highly competent authorities are convinced that the 

 setter is directly derived from the spaniel, and has probably 

 been slowly altered from it. It is known that the English 

 pointer has been greatly changed within the last century, and 

 in this case the change has, it is believed, been chiefly effected 

 by crosses with the foxhound : but what concerns us is. that 

 the change has been effected unconsciously and gradually, and 

 yet so effectually, that, though the old Spanish pointer cer- 

 tainly came from Spain, Mr. Borrow has not seen, as I am 



