





406 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 



Chap. XXVIII. 



could man have foreseen whether his animals and plants would 



ding generations and thus give birth 



t races ; 



and the small capacity of variability in the goose and ass has 

 prevented their domestication from the remotest epoch. 



With extremely few exceptions, all animals and plants which 

 have been long domesticated, have varied greatly. It matters 



under what climate,, or for what purpose, they are kept, 



beast, for draught or hunting, for 

 under all these circumstances do- 



whether as food for man 

 clothing or mere pleasur 



mesticated animals and plants have varied to a much 



extent than the forms which 

 one species. Why certain 



5 



tate of nature are ranked as 

 als and plants have varied 



i 



under domestication than others we do 



than why some 



endered mor 



t know, any 

 than other 



rs 



under changed conditions of life. But we frequently judge of 

 the amount of variation by the production of numerous and 

 diversified races, and we can clearly see why in many cases this 

 has not occurred, namely, because slight successive variations 

 have not been steadily accumulated ; and such variations will 



be accumulated when an animal 



observed, or much valued, or kept in large number 



plant is not closely 



The fluctuating, and, as far 



can judge, never-end 



variability of our domesticated producti 



— the plasticity of 



their whole organisation, — is one of the most important fact 

 which we learn from the numerous details given in the earlie 



chapters of this 



Yet domesticated animals and plants 



hardly have been exposed to greater changes in their condition 

 than have many natural species during the incessant geolo< 

 geographical, and climatal changes of the whole world. 



for 



The 

 will, however, commonly have been exposed to more 



sudden changes and to less 



ily uniform conditions 



As man has domesticated so many animals and plants belonging 

 to widely different classes, and as he certainly did not with pro- 

 phetic instinct choose those species which would vary most, we 

 may infer that all natural species, if subjected to analogous 



conditio 



ould. on an 



■8 



7 



to the same deg 



Few men at the present day 



ill maintain that animals and 



plant 



were created with a tendency to 



7: 



which 



long 



emained dormant, in order that fa 



in after ages might 



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