Variability and Inheritance. 141 



and goats, the feathers of birds, the forms of 

 horses, the forms and instincts of dogs ; there is no 

 change which he has not at some time or other 

 produced in some of the lower animals. 



Man has no power to create a* form, he has wis- 

 dom to take advantage of the great power to vary 

 which characterizes the higher life ; and when for 

 some obscure reason there arises a form useful to 

 him, he sets it apart, protects it, nourishes it, and 

 makes it the progenitor of many descendants. 



If the short-legged sheep born one day in New 

 England had belonged to a herd roaming over 

 difficult places it would not have survived. The 

 fact that it could not jump was no disadvantage 

 to it in its master's fields, and to him the fact that 

 it could not jump being a distinct advantage in 

 fence-making, he carefully preserved the short- 

 legged lamb, and its short-legged descendants 

 until he had a flock of short-legged sheep, much 

 easier to control than the ordinary long-legged 

 variety that delighted in jumping over walls and 

 fences. 



Man has discovered that by the application of 

 intelligence to the laws of nature, any animal life 

 may be changed. 



Fine qualities and great beauty may be devel- 

 oped, gross qualities and ugliness eliminated. 



Nor is this power limited to the physical growth. 

 Intelligence, gentleness, and affection may likewise 

 be evolved by the same methods. 



