one of her ears a little flattened. An ordinary observer might
scarcely notice it, and yet every one of her children has an
approximation to the same peculiarity to some extent. If you look at
the other extreme, too, the gravest diseases, such as gout, scrofula,
and consumption, may be handed down with just the same certainty and
persistence as we noticed in the perpetuation of the bandy legs of the
Ancon sheep.

However, these facts are best illustrated in animals, and the extent of
the variation, as is well known, is very remarkable in dogs. For
example, there are some dogs very much smaller than others; indeed, the
variation is so enormous that probably the smallest dog would be about
the size of the head of the largest; there are very great variations in
the structural forms not only of the skeleton but also in the shape of
the skull, and in the proportions of the face and the disposition of
the teeth.

The Pointer, the Retriever, Bulldog, and the Terrier, differ very
greatly, and yet there is every reason to believe that every one of
these races has arisen from the same source,--that all the most
important races have arisen by this selective breeding from accidental
variation.

A still more striking case of what may be done by selective breeding,
and it is a better case, because there is no chance of that partial
infusion of error to which I alluded, has been studied very carefully
by Mr. Darwin,--the case of the domestic pigeons. I dare say there may
be some among you who may be pigeon 'fanciers', and I wish you to
understand that in approaching the subject, I would speak with all
humility and hesitation, as I regret to say that I am not a pigeon