TRA NSMISSION OF MALFORMA TIONS. 1 85 



the ear, practised early in life, and in most nations of 

 the world, and even in tribes the most barbaric, yet 

 there is not the slightest evidence that the result of such 

 mutilations are transmitted, and the ear is of all parts of 

 the body the most easily and frequently observed. If 

 such injuries for so we must regard them were trans- 

 mitted, we ought to find the offspring of wild birds in 

 confinement, which have been pinioned, lack the bastard 

 wing ; such is not the case, nor are they in any way 

 malformed in consequence of the mutilation to which the 

 parents were subjected. It is inconsistent with the 

 fundamental principles of evolution that the effects of 

 removal or injury to parts of the body should be trans- 

 mitted to the offspring. It may perhaps be interesting 

 to briefly mention two instances which, in the absence 

 of more accurate information, have been interpreted as 

 due to inheritance of acquired conditions. 



The first instance concerns the tail feathers of 

 Momotus ; this bird has the singular habit of picking 

 away the web of the central feathers of its tail until 

 they assume a spatulate condition. In consequence of 

 the constant stripping of the web the feathers, when 

 they first appear, are naturally narrower in the places 

 where they are habitually denuded. The habit is 

 practised by both sexes alike. The matter has been 

 carefully investigated by Mr. Salvin, who is satisfied 

 that this plucking process is practised by the motmots. 



These observations are interesting, for it is thought 

 probable that the spatulate or racket-shaped tails in 

 some other birds may have been brought about in some 

 such way, so as to become a permanent condition. All 



