THE CROSSING, 4C, OP PIGEONS AND FOWLS. 245 



that, not merely does it lack " the feathers, so much 

 reversed, along the back of the neck that they form a 

 hood," of the Jacobin ; and, that, not merely does it 

 lack the power of utterance of the coo, alone retained 

 by the Trumpeter and Laugher; but, that it also lacks, 

 to a greater or less degree, development in the size, 

 and shape of the body; in the number, and size of the 

 scutellse ; in the size of the eyes, and eyelids ; in the 

 length, and breadth of the tongue ; in the amount of 

 wattle ; in its coating of feathers ; in the size, and 

 shape of its sternum, and of its scapulae ; in the number, 

 and size of its vertebrae, and in many details of its 

 skeleton, and of other internal and external organs ; it 

 is apparent, that here, in this variety, and in the other 

 divergent varieties of the species, which are, mutatis 

 mutandis, likewise, disproportionately developed, the 

 greatest evils are to be expected from close-interbreed- 

 ing, and the greatest increase of good, from crossing 

 distinct varieties. 



The Fowl has its characters, similarly distributed, 

 among its different varieties, and similar, evil effects 

 are, therefore, to be expected to result from close-inter- 

 breeding. 



It is also to be expected, that, when two varieties, of 

 the Pigeon or of the Fowl, are crossed, good will result; 

 owing to the fact, that some of the characters which 

 one variety lacks, will be supplied by the characters 

 which the other possesses. 



The results anticipated, ex hypothesi, are fully borne 

 out, by the facts recorded by Darwin. (It is scarcely 

 necessary to reiterate again, that the facts are inexplica- 



