' 



242 



SELECTION. 



Chap. XXI. 



remark ; for we can in no other way understand the surprising 

 amount of difference between varieties in the parts or qualities 

 which are valued, whilst other parts retain nearly their original 

 character. 



The foregoing discussion naturally leads to the question, what 



the limit 



possible amount of 



any part 



or quality, and, consequently, is there any limit to what 

 tion can effect ? Will a race-horse ever be reared fleeter than 



Eclipse ? Can 

 proved ? Will 



prize-cattle and sheep be 



further 



lm- 



a gooseberry ever weigh more than that pro 



duced by " London " in 1852 ? Will the beet-root in Fi 



yield 



greater per 



of sug 



Will future varieties of 



heat and other grain produce heavier crops than 



present 



varieties ? These questions cannot be positively answered ; but 



it is certain that we ought to be cautious in 



by 



In some lines of variation the limit has probably been 



legative. 



eached. Youatt believes that 



reduction of bone 



of our sheep has already been carried so far 



delicacy of constitu 

 within recent times 



61 



But seeing the 



o v ~~ to 



improvement 



cattle and sheep, and especially 



our pigs ; seeing the wonderful increase in weight in our poultry 

 of all kinds during the last few years ; he would be a bold man 



d 



that perfection has been reached 



Eclip 



hor 



have 



perhaps may never be beaten until all our race 

 been rendered swifter, through the selection of the best horses 

 during many generations ; and then the old Eclipse may possibly 

 be eclipsed ; but, as Mr. Wallace has remarked, there must be an 

 ultimate limit to the fleetness of every animal, whether under 

 nature or domestication ; and with the horse this limit has perhaps 

 been reached. Until our fields are better manured, it may be 

 impossible for a new variety of wheat to yield a heavier crop. But 

 in many cases those who are best qualified to judge do not believe 

 that the extreme point has as yet been reached even with respect 

 to characters which have already been carried to a high standard 

 of perfection. For instance, the short-faced tumbler-pigeon has 



bee 



eatly modified 



ertheless. according to Mr. Eaton 



62 



" the field is still as open for fresh competit 

 hundred years ago." 



to 



>." Over and over again it has been said tl] 



61 Youatt on Sheep, p. 521. 62 ■ A Treatise on the Almond Tumbler,' p. i 



* 



f 



i 



