appears that one Seth Wright, the proprietor of a farm on the banks of
the Charles River, in Massachusetts, possessed a flock of fifteen ewes
and a ram of the ordinary kind. In the year 1791, one of the ewes
presented her owner with a male lamb, differing, for no assignable
reason, from its parents by a proportionally long body and short bandy
legs, whence it was unable to emulate its relatives in those sportive
leaps over the neighbours' fences, in which they were in the habit of
indulging, much to the good farmer's vexation.

The second case is that detailed by a no less unexceptionable authority
than Reaumur, in his 'Art de faire eclore les Poulets'. A Maltese
couple, named Kelleia, whose hands and feet were constructed upon the
ordinary human model, had born to them a son, Gratio, who possessed six
perfectly movable fingers on each hand, and six toes, not quite so well
formed, on each foot. No cause could be assigned for the appearance of
this unusual variety of the human species.

Two circumstances are well worthy of remark in both these cases. In
each, the variety appears to have arisen in full force, and, as it
were, 'per saltum'; a wide and definite difference appearing, at once,
between the Ancon ram and the ordinary sheep; between the six-fingered
and six-toed Gratio Kelleia and ordinary men. In neither case is it
possible to point out any obvious reason for the appearance of the
variety. Doubtless there were determining causes for these as for all
other phenomena; but they do not appear, and we can be tolerably certain
that what are ordinarily understood as changes in physical conditions,
as in climate, in food, or the like, did not take place and had nothing
to do with the matter. It was no case of what is commonly called
adaptation to circumstances; but, to use a conveniently erroneous
phrase, the variations arose spontaneously. The fruitless search after