136 THE DOCTRINE OF DESCENT. 



ties originally variable, and on their first accidental ap- 

 pearance usually perceived only by the careful eye of a 

 connoisseur. But not a few cases are likewise certified 

 in which an accidental deformity and a new character 

 appearing suddenly even in a single individual have lent 

 themselves to the rapid formation of a race. " Thus," 

 as Darwin relates,'^ " in 1791 a ram lamb was born in 

 Massachusetts, having short, crooked legs and a long 

 back like a turnspit dog. From this one lamb the otter 

 or ancon semi-monstrous breed was raised; as these 

 sheep could not leap over the fences, it was thought that 

 they would be valuable; but they have been supplanted 

 by merinos; and thus exterminated. These sheep are 

 remarkable from transmitting their character so truly, 

 that Colonel Humphreys never heard of but one ques- 

 tionable case of an ancon ram and ewe not producing 

 ancon offspring." — " A more interesting case has been 

 recorded in the Report of the Juries for the Great Exhi- 

 bition (1851), namely, production of a merino ram lamb 

 on the Mauchamp farm in 1828, which was remarkable 

 for its long, smooth, straight, and silky wool. By the 

 year 1833, Mr. Graux had raised rams enough to serve 

 his whole flock, and after a few years more he was able 

 to sell stock of his new breed. So peculiar and valu- 

 able is the wool, that it sells at 25 per cent, above the 

 best merino wool; even the fleeces of half-bred animals 

 are valuable, and are known in France as the Mauchamp 

 merino. It is interesting, as showing how generally any 

 marked deviation of structure is accompanied by other 

 deviations, that the first ram and his offspring were of 

 small size with large heads, long necks, narrow chests, 

 and long flanks; but these blemishes were removed by 



