58 THE PHYSICAL KINSHIP 



bodies and short legs the ancon breed of sheep was 

 finally produced. In 1770 in a herd of Paraguay 

 cattle a hornless male calf appeared, and from 

 this individual in a similar way came the stock of 

 Muleys. The occasional appearance of horned 

 calves and lambs among the offspring of hornless 

 breeds of cattle and sheep are examples of atavism 

 indicating the presence of a vestigial tendency to 

 breed true to their horned ancestors. The Hereford 

 cattle originated as a distinct variety about 1769 

 through the careful selections of a certain English- 

 man by the name of Tompkins. All domesticated 

 quadrupeds, except the elephant, have come from 

 wild species with erect ears, the ears acting as 

 funnels to harvest the sound-waves. But there 

 are few of them in which there is not one or more 

 varieties with drooping ears — cats in China, horses 

 in parts of Russia, sheep in Italy, cattle in India, 

 and pigs, dogs, and rabbits in all long-civilised 

 lands. We are so accustomed to seeing dogs and 

 pigs with pendent ears that we are surprised to 

 know there are varieties with erect ears. The 

 goldfish is a carp, and in its native haunts in the 

 waters of China it has the colour of the carp. The 

 golden hue seen in the occupants of our aquaria 

 has been given to this fish by the Chinese through 

 the continual selection of certain kinds. The 

 goldfish, almost as much as the pigeon, has been 

 the sport of fanciers, and the strangest varieties 

 have resulted. Some have outlandishly long fins, 

 while others have no dorsal fin at all. Some are 

 streaked and splotched with gold and scarlet j 



