42 Experimental Zoology 



as just described (i.e. like the feral rabbits of Porto Santo) ; but 

 when one of their dead bodies was sent to me in February, 

 1865, the ears were plainly edged, and the upper surface of the 

 tail was covered with blackish gray fur and the whole body 

 was much less red, so that under the English climate this in- 

 dividual rabbit had resumed the proper color of its fur in rather 

 less than four years." x 



Darwin thinks that "from the direct action of a humid cli- 

 mate and poor pasture the horse rapidly decreases in size in 

 the Falkland Islands." 



There is a great deal of evidence to indicate that climate acts 

 directly in bringing about a change in the hair of animals, and 

 not only is the thickness of pelt affected, but also the character 

 of the hairs. Geoffroy St. Hilaire states that horses that have 

 lived for several years in deep coal mines come to have a vel- 

 vety hair, somewhat like that of the mole. 



Wild ducks are said to change under the influence of do- 

 mestication. The collar around the neck of the mallard be- 

 comes broader and more irregular. White feathers appear in 

 the wings. The birds also increase in size, etc. 



Certain foods affect the color of the feather of birds. Hemp 

 seeds cause the color of bullfinches to become darker. 2 Wal- 

 lace states that the natives of the Amazonian region feed the 

 common green parrot with the fat of siluroid fishes, which 

 causes it to become variegated with red and yellow feathers. 

 How far these effects, produced directly by the environment, 

 may become inherited will be examined in the next chapter. 



1 "Animals and Plants," Chap. V. 



2 Romanes, in his book on "Darwin and After Darwin," II, gives some 

 further cases of this sort, p. 217. 



