14 DOMESTIC PIGEONS. [CHAP. I 



type. 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 otherwise 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 species, 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 bloodhound, 

 the bull-dog, pug-dog, or Blenheim spaniel, etc. so unlike all wild 

 Canidae ever existed in a state of nature 1 It has often been 

 loosely said that all our races of dogs have been produced by the 

 crossing of a few aboriginal species ; but by crossing we can only 

 get forms in some degree intermediate between their parents ; and 

 if we account for our several domestic races by this process, we 

 must admit the former existence of the most extreme forms, as the 

 Italian greyhound, bloodhound, bull-dog, etc., in the wild state. 

 Moreover, the possibility of making distinct races by crossing has 

 been greatly exaggerated. Many cases are on record, showing that 

 a race may be modified by occasional crosses, if aided by the care- 

 ful selection of the individuals which present the desired character ; 

 but to obtain a race intermediate between two quite distinct races, 

 would be very difficult. Sir J. Sebright expressly experimented 

 with this object and failed. The offspring from the first cross 

 between two pure breeds is tolerably and sometimes (as I have 

 found with pigeons) quite uniform in character, and everything 

 seems simple enough ; but when these mongrels are crossed one 

 with another for several generations, hardly two of them are alike, 

 and then the difficulty of the task becomes manifest. 



Breeds of the Domestic Pigeon, their Differences and Origin. 



Believing that it is always best to study some special group, 

 I have, after deliberation, taken up domestic pigeons. I have kept 

 every breed which I could purchase or obtain, and have been most 

 kindly favoured with skins from several quarters of the world, 

 more especially by the Hon. W. Elliot from India, and by the Hon. 

 C. Murray from Persia. Many treatises in different languages have 

 been published on pigeons, and some of them are very important, 

 as being of considerable antiquity. I have associated with several 

 eminent fanciers, and have been permitted to join two of the 



