68 THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 



iials of other and dist'nct bre'ids, in a 'hich as many as 

 seventeen tail-feathers have been counted. Perhaps the 

 first pouter-pigeon did not inflate its crop much more 

 than the turbit now does the upper part of its oesophagus 

 — a habit which is disregarded by all fanciers, as it is not 

 one of the points of the breed. 



Nor let it be thought that some great deviation of 

 structure would be necessary to catch the fancier's eye: 

 he perceives extremely small differences, and it is ia 

 human nature to value any novelty, however slight, in 

 one's own possession. Nor must the value which would 

 formerly have been set on any slight differences in the 

 individuals of the same species be judged of by the 

 value which is now set on them, after several breeds 

 have fairly been established. It is known that with 

 pigeons many slight variations now occasionally appear, 

 but these are rejected as faults or deviations from the 

 standard of perfection in each breed. The common goose 

 has not given rise to any marked varieties; hence the 

 Toulouse and the common breed, which differ only in 

 color, that most fleeting of characters, have lately been 

 exhibited as distinct at our poultry-shows. 



These views appear to explain what has sometimes 

 been noticed — namely, that we know hardly anything 

 ^about the origin or histor}^ of any of our domestic 

 breeds. But, in fact, a breed, like a dialect of a lan- 

 •Tr guage, can hardly be said to have a distinct origin. A 

 man preserves and breeds from an individual with some 

 slisfht deviation of structure, or takes more care than 

 usual in matching his best animals, and thus improves 

 them, and the improved animals slowly spread in the 

 immediate neighborhood. But they will as yet hardly 



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